The Treasury Department is ready to transfer the responsibility of overseeing pyramid schemes to the Ministry of Justice, proposing to amend the law to punish 'mothers' who invite members to join pyramid schemes. Mr. Chulaphan Amornvivat, Deputy Minister of Finance, said that after the Prime Minister ordered several agencies to jointly consider amending the Royal Decree on Fraudulent Loans to the Public B.E. 2527 (1984) to take care of pyramid schemes and fraud against the public, the said law is considered outdated and has been in force since 1984, more than 40 years ago. Now, we are entering the new digital world, fundraising, member recruitment, and fraudulent forms have developed a lot. The old law may not be able to punish and keep up with the new fraud. From the discussions of many relevant agencies in the first round, in the past, it was suggested that the Ministry of Finance, the law enforcer, request to transfer the power to supervise the Royal Decree on Fraudulent Loans to the People B.E. 2527 to the Ministry of Justice to supervise because it has a direct duty to supervise. For the offenses under Section 341 and Section 343, if it is a pyramid scheme, it is a criminal offense with a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment and both imprisonment and fines. The meeting also proposed to punish the main network, responsible for raising funds and mobilizing members. In addition to the leaders and executives of the pyramid scheme, such as 'The Icon Group', the main network was not prosecuted. The approach to amending the law is still being discussed for several rounds to create more clarity. Source: Thai News Agency
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