Former Thai Finance Minister Koon Says Crypto Is Not the Villain in Online Gambling Scandal

Key summary

Korn Jatikavich, Deputy Head of the Democrat Party and former Minister of Finance, posted on Facebook on October 25, 2026, arguing that cryptocurrency is not to blame for online gambling issues. He highlighted the case of Sirichok Sopha, a former Democrat MP, who investigated the Shuffle online betting website. Korn stated that blockchain technology leaves financial trails that can be followed, citing how Sirichok gathered nearly 10,000 transactions worth over 118 million baht linked to the gambling site without court orders or state power. He noted that while public blockchains are transparent and immutable, private bank accounts and cash transfers remain harder to track for the general public. Korn emphasized that cryptocurrency exchanges in Thailand should be scrutinized for their anti-money laundering duties and customer identity verification (KYC) rather than being scapegoated, as they differ from banks in how wallet addresses can be analyzed. He concluded that if the state acts decisively, the digital trails left on blockchains serve as effective tools to prosecute those behind illegal operations.