The Anti-money Laundering Office (Amlo) has frozen 77 bank accounts totalling more than 25.5 million baht that are linked to online football gambling.
Amlo deputy secretary-general Romsit Weeriyasan said the agency's transaction committee Wednesday ordered a freeze on 77 bank accounts from 64 suspects involved in offering online football gambling services.
This was just the first batch of frozen assets, Pol Maj Gen Romsit said. The investigation will be expanded to search for the masterminds behind the online betting networks, he added.
He said several websites were set up during the 2018 Fifa World Cup, which kicked off on June 14 and runs until July 15.
Those interested in gambling apply to become members by filling in their personal information and transferring money into bank accounts opened by ''agents''. Gamblers then receive passwords to log in and place their bets, he said.
Amlo has monitored these sites and found irregularities in financial transactions in the bank accounts owned by those agents, in possible violation of the Anti-money Laundering Act, Pol Maj Gen Romsit said.
He said several online bookmakers have asked gamblers to make good on their bets by paying electronically, which opens up potential channels for money-laundering.
Amlo will work with the Bank of Thailand to keep track of these groups, and all commercial banks will be asked to keep an eye out for suspicious financial transactions, he said.
Earlier this month, the first batch of 15 internet celebrities and beauty presenters were summoned to face charges for promoting illegal online football gambling services, police said.
