Thai law enforcement and financial crime agencies have intensified a sweeping investigation into suspected money-laundering activities that has now implicated international technology products, corporate networks and senior figures in Thailand’s digital and financial sectors.

This week, officials from Thailand’s Department of Special Investigations and the Anti-Money Laundering Office executed search warrants at multiple locations tied to a series of connected companies, seizing biometric devices and other materials as part of efforts to determine whether financial crime statutes have been violated.

Among the items confiscated were four iris biometric scanners associated with a global digital identity project, which authorities said they will examine for evidence of unauthorized storage or use of biometric information of Thai citizens.

The warrants were carried out at facilities including companies linked to Thailand International Digital Business and Financial Centre operations and related partners.

The investigation follows earlier government orders to delete more than one million sets of iris biometric data collected for digital identity purposes, underscoring concerns about data governance and compliance with national regulations.

The web of corporate and financial ties under scrutiny also includes memoranda of understanding that were once signed with foreign investment entities before being subsequently cancelled by Thailand’s Ministry of Digital Economy and Society.

A former senior official in that ministry and the current chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission have been questioned by investigators in connection with the wider probe.

Authorities have stressed that the involvement of international technology providers appears to be indirect, with no evidence yet publicly presented that these firms engaged in unlawful acts themselves.

The broader inquiry is unfolding against a backdrop of increasing activity by Thai authorities to clamp down on transnational scams, online fraud networks and complex money-laundering schemes that have funneled illicit proceeds through banking, digital assets and real estate channels.

Recent national efforts include large-scale arrests of suspected scam operators, freezing of accounts linked to mule networks and coordinated crackdowns on call-centre-linked syndicates.

Financial regulators and law enforcement officials have also signalled plans to enhance anti-money-laundering standards across financial institutions and digital finance sectors to address vulnerabilities exploited in cross-border financial crime.

As the investigations progress, Thai authorities say they are committed to enforcing compliance with anti-money-laundering laws, safeguarding personal data and addressing the challenges posed by evolving financial technologies that can be abused by criminal networks.