The Legal Execution Department (LED) will learn from other countries' experiences on how to proceed with dealing with digital assets at an international meeting in Bangkok in May, director-general Ruenvadee Suwanmongkol said yesterday.
Ms Ruenvadee said technological change has now brought digital assets to the fore and could prompt many legal disputes since there are no clear guidelines on seizing and selling off digital assets.
Since Thailand is hosting the 23rd International Congress of the International Union of Judicial Officers from May 1-4 -- with 500 legal execution officers from 50 countries taking part -- this presents an opportunity for LED officials to pick people's brains about digital assets and legal executions, Ms Ruenvadee said.
The department will be able to learn from overseas officers on how they handle legal execution in relation to digital assets, she said, adding it is known that some European countries have begun conducting legal executions regarding digital assets.
She also welcomed the cabinet's approval on Tuesday of two royal decree drafts -- one to regulate digital-asset-related transactions and another to amend the Revenue Code to let the tax-collecting agency impose levies on digital assets -- as a significant step to laying out guidelines on how to protect people from heavy losses resulting from digital currency investment.
The LED is now in the process of conducting research on how to proceed with the legal execution of digital assets.
The Finance Ministry, Bank of Thailand, the Securities and Exchange Commission and other agencies would be consulted to lay out a common framework on the issue, and the research will likely conclude within six months, Ms Ruenvadee said. The first meeting of the research team is scheduled today, she noted.
Ms Ruenvadee also gave details about upcoming LED auctions properties located in Chachoengsao, Chon Buri and Rayong where the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) development plan is being concentrated.
She said 343 properties worth 813 million baht would be up for auction. They include 275 land plots with construction, worth 628 million baht; 42 condominiums, worth 103 million baht; and 26 empty land plots, valued at 61 million baht.
The auctions will be held on March 17 and April 7 at Pacific Park shopping mall in Chon Buri's Si Racha district, she said. Interested people can check the properties on the LED's website.
In earlier auctions of properties in the EEC zone between October last year and February, 2.8 billion baht worth of assets were sold off, Ms Ruenvadee said.
Meanwhile, the Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo) has resolved to seize more than 100 million baht worth of assets in various drug and fraud cases. The decision was made by an Amlo panel on Tuesday.
They include five drug involving 58 seized assets, valued at 29 million baht, and three fraud cases.
