By Kitiphong Thaichareon and Panarat Thepgumpanat
BANGKOK (Reuters) -Thailand’s deputy finance minister said on Wednesday that he will resign following allegations linking him to a transnational scam operation.
Border areas between Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia have become hubs for online fraud since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the United Nations says billions of dollars have been earned from the trafficking of hundreds of thousands of people forced to work in scam compounds.
The opposition has alleged that the 61-year-old former financier Vorapak Tanyawong and his wife are among a number of Thai political figures involved in a criminal network accused of laundering money for regional scam operations.
Vorapak denied all allegations and said that he would resign from the cabinet to shield the government from distractions.