Thailand’s deputy finance minister, Vorapak Tanyawong, said on Wednesday that he was resigning over allegations that he and his wife were linked to a network of cybercrime hubs in Cambodia, part of a sprawling criminal enterprise in Southeast Asia that has stolen tens of billions of dollars from victims worldwide.
His announcement followed news media reports that he was connected to the scam network and that his wife had accepted bribes from a cybercrime operation. Mr. Vorapak, who denied the allegations, is a rare example of a high-ranking official stepping down after being accused of ties to the fraud.
Mr. Vorapak said in a statement that he would leave his role “so as not to allow my personal affairs to become a burden” on the government and to protect the independence of Thailand’s investigation into the scam network, an inquiry he had been appointed to lead. He said that he would pursue legal action against what he called defamatory reports linking him to the scam centers.
At a news conference, Mr. Vorapak said, “I do not support illegal transactions and will not defend anyone who violates any law, whether in Thailand or abroad.” He added that he had been “slandered” by the accusations.
Criminal groups have used the porous border regions of some Southeast Asian countries like Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar to carry out online fraud targeting people around the world.
Thailand, along with countries including China, the United States, Britain and South Korea, recently widened its campaign against the network, and last month Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul appointed Mr. Vorapak to lead the country’s effort.
But pressure grew on Mr. Vorapak after news reports, including by the independent investigative reporting group Whale Hunting, that he had connections to the scam centers, and that his wife had been paid $3 million in cryptocurrency this year by criminal networks in Cambodia.
On Tuesday, Mr. Anutin asked for a written response to the allegations, and said he received a three-page reply. Mr. Anutin called the resignation a pity.
“No one pressured him,” the prime minister said at a separate news conference. “He must have considered the big picture.”
Outrage has grown after a 22-year-old university student from South Korea — where officials say promises of high-paying jobs have lured workers overseas to the scam centers — was found dead with torture marks in Cambodia in August. The Cambodian authorities, who linked his death to the scam network, this week deported more than 60 South Koreans who had been involved in the network.
John Yoon is a Times reporter based in Seoul who covers breaking and trending news.
Muktita Suhartono reports on Thailand and Indonesia. She is based in Bangkok.
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