BANGKOK, THAILAND – Unusually large cash withdrawals exceeding 160 billion baht in the run-up to Thailand’s 8 February general election raised alarms among regulators, political parties and rights groups.
Central bank tightens oversight of cash flows
The Bank of Thailand stepped up monitoring of major cash movements after Governor Vitai Ratanakorn announced stricter supervision on Tuesday. Particular attention was paid to withdrawals and currency exchanges involving 100- and 500-baht notes, which were widely used and easy to deploy in large quantities. Vitai said banks had to report suspicious cash-exchange transactions, especially those between 1 and 5 million baht.
“The central bank cannot prohibit cash transactions, but it is asking institutions for closer cooperation and additional reporting.”
said Vitai Ratanakorn, governor of the Bank of Thailand.
Until now, reports had gone mainly to the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO), but reporting requirements were being expanded to trace money flows in more detail. In parallel, the central bank worked on regulatory changes to allow deeper scrutiny of cash dealings, although these were expected to take another two to three months to come into force.
System disruptions, seasonal demand and election timing
According to the central bank, sharp fluctuations were recorded particularly in September and December 2025, with officials citing several causes. In September, a serious disruption in the banking system following tougher anti-money laundering measures against fraud networks and so-called “Mule Accounts” reportedly undermined confidence in digital payments. Many accounts were closed or frozen and some online transactions were restricted, prompting large numbers of people to switch temporarily to cash.
“People withdrew money to store and spend it offline.”
said the central bank in a statement dated 11 January 2026.
By October, payment behaviour had largely normalised, the bank said. The renewed rise in December was attributed to seasonal demand, with officials stating that cash needs traditionally increased before Christmas and New Year and that this pattern appeared in the data every year and was not exceptional.
Concerns over ‘grey money’ and election links
Vitai acknowledged that high cash usage was typical during election periods and said possible links to the campaign would not be ignored. The central bank also expanded its role in combating “grey money” and structural financial problems. The National Human Rights Commission warned that around 160 billion baht had been withdrawn from the financial system in the four months before the vote, raising serious questions about the integrity of the electoral process.
Political figures used the numbers to call publicly for clarification. Chaiwat Sathavorawichit, a party-list candidate of the People’s Party, described the development on Facebook as “shocking” and asked where the more than 160.8 billion baht cited in central bank statistics as having been put into circulation between July and November 2025 had gone.
Record monthly total amid political upheaval
Chaiwat pointed to data indicating that 127 billion baht had been withdrawn in September 2025 alone, which he said was the highest monthly figure ever recorded and did not match normal seasonal effects. He also referred to confidential information from a senior banker about withdrawals in the high hundreds of millions of baht at various institutions. In his comments, he linked the wave of cash to a period of intense political upheaval.
According to his account, the Constitutional Court had first suspended the then prime minister in July 2025 and removed her from office in August. In September, Anutin Charnvirakul was chosen as prime minister in a deal with the People’s Party, an alliance that collapsed in December and triggered the current snap election.
Chaiwat publicly questioned what the funds were being used for and called the scale dangerous, with his remarks spreading across social media and increasing pressure on AMLO and other supervisory bodies.
Election Commission acts on media and campaign rules
The Election Commission responded with visible measures, launching investigations into five video and audio clips that could violate election law. According to Secretary-General Saweang Boonmee, correction or deletion orders would be issued immediately in cases of infringement, while serious matters would be referred to investigative agencies. At the same time, the commission ruled on four legal queries from the Bhumjaithai Party concerning campaign conduct.
It clarified that presenting potential cabinet members was permissible under Section 74 of the election law, provided media use and presentation complied with the rules. External campaign supporters who were not party members were allowed to appear at events if their roles and remuneration were reported, and they could feature on campaign posters only if they were legally recognised as party leaders or official candidates.
The commission held that their participation in debates and public forums was allowed as long as there was no misleading presentation of national government plans. Saweang also reported 34 further cases under review, including eight proceedings over alleged insults to the monarchy and 26 related to inflammatory or aggressive campaign language.
Local reports of vote buying and uneven optimism
Concerns over the surge in cash were reinforced by reports from constituencies. A Pheu Thai candidate in Ubon Ratchathani province recently estimated that about 1 billion baht could flow into targeted vote buying in key districts, warning of intermediaries collecting national ID cards, a locally known sign of attempts to control voters, and urging the Election Commission to act more decisively. Despite these risks, Abhisit Vejjajiva, leader of the Democrat Party and back in politics after stepping down in 2019, expressed a more positive view.
He told journalists he saw a stronger and more determined political awareness among the public. Observers nonetheless stressed that the targeted deployment of large financial resources by local power groups would be hard to stop and could significantly influence both the election outcome and the distribution of parliamentary seats. For now, the established facts were that cash withdrawals had risen sharply in certain months, oversight bodies were responding and investigations were under way, while the 8 February election date drew steadily closer.