Authorities must cooperate internationally, regulate at home, to stem online crime spree.
THE RAPID growth of Bitcoin-related scams
and other cybercrimes has prompted the United Nations to urge member
countries, including Thailand, to step up their legal safeguards against
potential economic losses.
Cybercrime-related losses worldwide top US$600 billion (Bt19.6
trillion), said Julien Garsany, deputy regional representative of the UN
Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Garsany told a Bangkok seminar on cryptocurrency and cyber-crime that the
cost of economic and other damage to Asian countries alone ranges
between $120 million and $200 million, making it essential for
law-enforcement and justice officials in various countries to work
together to tackle the issue.
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Thailand has also won support from the international community after an
executive decree was issued recently to regulate all digital assets,
including Bitcoin and initial coin offerings (ICOs).
Kittipong Kittayarak, executive director of the Thailand Institute of
Justice, said criminals have now turned to using cryptocurrencies to
commit crimes such as money laundering, terrorism financing and illicit
ransom payments. They also use cryptocurrencies to pay for child
pornography, malware, narcotics, weapons and human trafficking via the
so-called “darknet”, whose computer server locations are unknown.
The number of cryptocurrency crimes in Thailand remains small so far but
is expected to increase rapidly in the near future. The country needs
to boost public awareness and readiness to tackle this issue, Kittipong
said.
Justice Minister ACM Prajin Chantong told the seminar that a shortage of
experts in this field means Thailand needs to expand its collaboration
with other countries.
Dr Narin Phetthong, an Interpol specialist on criminal activity
involving cryptocurrencies, said the most prominent cases in Thailand
included a huge Bitcoin robbery in Phuket allegedly carried out by
Russian criminals and the Bt800-million Bitcoin scam in which a Finnish
owner of bitcoins was allegedly cheated by Thais.
Alexandru Caciuloiu, the UNODC’s cybercrime project coordinator, said
criminal activity involving cryptocurrency could take many forms,
including their use by prostitution rings to launder money and
crypto-hacking in which computer servers are accessed without
authorisation to mine Bitcoins and other digital units.
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Regional operation
Narin said Interpol now has a regional operation in Singapore with a
unit dedicated to cybercrimes in Asean countries. Owing to concerns on
the expected rise of these crimes, Thailand’s Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) is now tasked with regulating all digital assets in the
country.
Bhume Bhumiratana, a consultant of SEC, said licensing and registration
with the authorities is now required for several types of business
involving digital assets, including cryptocurrency exchanges, dealers
and brokers. Such regulator oversight could help prevent fraud and other
wrongdoing, Bhume added.
Preventive measures such as licensing and “know your customer” (KYC)
regulations imposed on banks and other financial institutions will allow
the authorities to trace owners of digital assets used in criminal
activities.
Poramin Insom, founder of the Zcoin and TDAX cryptocurrency exchanges in
Thailand, said only 0.2 per cent of the Thai population currently use
Bitcoins and similar currencies. He predicts that figure will grow 10
per cent over the next five years.
Poramin said the current regulations on all digital assets are good for
the country and potential users, as well as investors who want to know
the rules to avoid problems with regulators.
However, authorities must avoid over-regulating digital assets and other
new technologies as Thai innovators could be negatively affected,
cautioned Prin Panitchpakdi, a member of SET’s board of governors and
director of National Innovation Agency.
Source - TheNation
