Investment Fraud and Investor Protection

Over the past five years, the financial impact of investment fraud in Thailand has surged nearly fourfold, reaching an annual average of THB 28.1 billion in 2023–2024. Despite existing frameworks, fraud schemes (including market abuse, financial statement fraud, and investor scams) continue to exploit gaps in prevention, detection, enforcement, and recovery. While current regulatory efforts emphasize market abuse and disclosure-related offenses, investor scams remain under-addressed. A review of 95 recent fraud cases reveals persistent challenges such as weak surveillance, fragmented enforcement, and limited victim compensation.

How can Thailand build a more robust investor protection system in response to these rising threats? Global examples offer inspiration. The U.S. leads with integrated fraud tracking—such as FINRA’s AI-driven surveillance and the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT)—while Singapore excels through cross-agency enforcement and whistleblower protection. Taiwan and Malaysia further demonstrate how AI tools, governance reforms, and real-time scam response can reinforce market integrity. These insights suggest that success depends not just on stronger laws—but on a broader shift toward data-driven, preventive, and collaborative practices.

To support this transition, our report offers a roadmap grounded in stakeholder interviews and case cluster analysis. It curates nine initiatives tailored to Thailand’s needs—ranging from quick wins such as a Centralized Investment Task Force and Investor Education Empowerment, to long-term reforms like cross-institution asset tracking. Together, these reforms are guided by five strategic foundations: continuous improvement, cross-sector collaboration, transparent engagement, balanced regulation, and evidence-based action. Through these, we believe Thailand can effectively strengthen investor protection and restore investor confidence.