More than 13 billion baht has been confiscated over the past eight months in various money laundering-related cases, according to Preecha Chareonsahayanon, acting secretary-general of the Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo).
The confiscated sum mostly comes from major corruption cases such as the rice-pledging scheme, the embezzlement of state funds intended for the poor, temple donations, the Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative embezzlement scandal, and human trafficking cases involving Victoria's Secret Massage.
Mr Preecha noted the figure to highlight Amlo's recent achievements as the agency prepares to celebrate its 20th anniversary next year.
"Amlo has reformed and reinvented itself to be more and more proactive. Besides confiscating ill-gotten wealth, we have worked hard to prevent crimes also. This year alone, our work has successfully stopped call centre scammers from getting their hands on money they swindled from victims," he said.
Over the past eight months, more than 17 million baht of potential loot for the call centre scammers has been saved by the agency, he noted.
"Next year, as Amlo turns 20, the organisation will strive to improve its digital technology in order to keep track with the borderless world of digital and cashless societies," he said.
Amlo also plans to open an operations centre equipped with cutting-edge surveillance and high-calibre software by next year.
By 2021, Amlo hopes to be recognised as a world-class agency in the fight against money laundering and countering financial support related to terrorism, he said.
Pol Maj Gen Preecha is serving as acting secretary-general after his predecessor, Pol Maj Gen Romsit Weeriyasan, was earlier this week shunted out of the top job.
Pol Maj Gen Romsit was reassigned to become an inspector-general attached to the Office of the Prime Minister under the National Council for Peace and Order in a statement published in the Royal Gazette on Tuesday.
Mr Wissanu said the cabinet still had no agenda on when to appoint the new Amlo secretary-general. The selection of a person for the post, he said, will be handled by the Anti-Money Laundering Committee, which would forward the name to the cabinet.