A 1.47% Stake Draws in Thailand’s DSI, Anti-Money Laundering Office and Digital Economy Minister

File photo: the Sukhumvit skyline in Bangkok, Thailand, 13 July 2024. Geographic context only; not the DSI offices, an investigation scene or any property linked to the people or companies discussed. Photo: OPK-Photography / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Image source.

A cryptocurrency casino registered in Curaçao, with a parent company in the British Virgin Islands, has a shareholder holding a 1.47% stake who is the husband of an MP from Thailand’s ruling party. The matter has been developing in Thailand for two weeks and has now reached the stage of a criminal investigation.

Justice Minister: DSI Opened the Case on Its Own Initiative on October 8

Thailand’s Justice Minister, Police Lieutenant General Rutthapon Naowarat, told reporters at Government House on October 20 that the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) had assigned a case number and opened an investigation into the matter as early as October 8. He said the basis was that it involved criminal offences, allowing DSI to intervene on its own initiative, rather than in response to a complaint.

According to Thailand’s Isranews news agency, Rutthapon said DSI, the police Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau, the Central Investigation Bureau and the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) had formed a four-agency working group. It met on October 19 to divide up responsibilities and would meet again on October 26. The investigation covers gambling issues, while asset-declaration matters fall under the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC). As for whether the matter would be elevated to a “special case”, he said that would depend on the evidence gathered and the outcome of discussions among the four agencies.

The person under investigation is Taiyang Zhang, the husband of Suchada Zhang Thaensap, nicknamed “Idea”, a Bhumjaithai Party MP for Chaiyaphum. According to Thai Newsroom, he is an Australian national of Chinese descent, and the couple married in 2024.

Were the Shares Sold, and to Whom?

Suchada’s account is that her husband’s 1.47% stake in Mixed Order Limited was sold in January 2026, before she was elected as an MP in February. Mixed Order is a British Virgin Islands company whose subsidiary, Natural Nine B.V., is Shuffle.com’s operating entity registered in Curaçao. She said the holding had been included in an earlier asset declaration and had already been sold by the time she was elected.

That account does not currently stand on firm ground. People’s Party deputy leader Rangsiman Rome pointed out that on October 16, Suchada was still saying her husband held “1%”, and only said a few days later that it had been sold; he called for disclosure of the buyer’s identity, the transaction date and payment records. Former Democrat Party MP Sirichok Sopha also demanded the buyer’s identity, the price, where the proceeds went and the transfer date, saying that a BVI company’s shareholder register could verify when ownership changed. Sirichok estimated the stake’s value at around 223 million baht. This is his own estimate, which this article cannot verify.

On October 20, Taiyang gave a statement to DSI. Suchada accompanied him, but according to Thai Enquirer, she did not enter the interview room or give a statement. She said critics were piecing together old documents from four or five years ago and unrelated information to manufacture a political controversy. Asked whether he was nervous, Taiyang replied, “Not at all.”

10,000 Crypto Transactions, 118 Million Baht

Sirichok also went to DSI that day. According to Thai PBS, he said what he submitted was not asset-declaration material but two types of evidence: shareholder registration records from 2024 and fund-flow data from a Thai digital asset exchange company. He claimed that over the past three years, Thai users had conducted nearly 10,000 transactions with the gambling website through this channel, totalling around 118 million baht. Thai Enquirer’s report named the exchange as Bitkub. These figures remain solely Sirichok’s claims; DSI has not publicly confirmed them.

The original article cites DSI’s invitation letter to Sirichok. The letter states that DSI is investigating activities related to the “online gambling platform Shuffle.com” that may involve offences under the Computer Crime Act and other criminal offences, and asks him to provide evidence to DSI’s technology and information crime department at 13:00 Thailand local time on October 22. Thai PBS reported that he had already visited voluntarily on October 20; October 22 is the formal appointment, so the two accounts do not conflict.

Sirichok argued that operating online gambling in Thailand and allowing funds to flow in already constituted an offence subject to public prosecution under the Gambling Act, meaning police need not wait for a victim to file a complaint before acting. He called on DSI to designate it a special case. He also claimed that a political party paid its MPs an additional 400,000 to 600,000 baht in cash each month, implying that the funds were linked to online gambling. He did not name the party or make evidence public, and this article cannot verify the claim.

The Heat Reaches the Minister

What takes this beyond an MP’s family matter is Suchada’s previous role. In 2025, she served as secretary to Digital Economy and Society Minister Chaichanok Chidchob. The digital economy ministry is the very department responsible for blocking online gambling websites, and Chaichanok is also Bhumjaithai’s secretary-general.

Rangsiman Rome questioned why Shuffle had remained accessible in Thailand for so long while other gambling websites were blocked, and whether there had been a conflict of interest, protection or dereliction of duty. According to Thai PBS, Shuffle began restricting access for Thai users on October 8, and the digital economy ministry subsequently announced that it had blocked the site on October 9, with the timing falling right around DSI’s opening of the case.

The next few days have a busy schedule. The House Committee on Law, Justice and Human Rights, chaired by Rangsiman Rome, meets on October 22 and has invited DSI, Suchada and Taiyang; Sirichok is due at DSI that same day to submit evidence; and the four-agency working group meets again on October 26. The opposition plans a no-confidence debate against 18 cabinet members from October 27 to 30. According to Thai Newsroom, Chaichanok is on the list.

What It Means for the Industry

Thai law does not recognise Curaçao licences, and online gambling is illegal within Thailand. This case merits the gambling industry’s attention because it touches on three sensitive issues at once: the practical accessibility of offshore-licensed casinos in markets where gambling is prohibited, crypto assets as deposit and withdrawal channels, and links between political figures and online gambling capital. The presence of the Anti-Money Laundering Office in the four-agency working group means the investigation may follow the money rather than stop at “who holds the shares”.

It should be noted that, so far, neither Suchada nor Taiyang has been charged, and DSI has not announced any investigative findings; this is only the initial stage of a criminal investigation. This article found no response from Shuffle.

Sources

• Isranews, Justice Minister Rutthapon on DSI’s opening of the case and the four-agency working group, 2026-10-20: https://www.isranews.org/article/isranews/149650-politics-602.html
• Thai PBS, Sirichok submits evidence to DSI, 2026-10-20: https://www.thaipbs.or.th/news/content/571379
• Thai Enquirer: https://x.com/ThaiEnquirer/status/2112392724330819845 ; https://x.com/ThaiEnquirer/status/2112422340936298739 ; https://x.com/ThaiEnquirer/status/2112459227646300305 ; https://x.com/ThaiEnquirer/status/2112493158701682808 ; https://x.com/ThaiEnquirer/status/2112853950278083008
• Thai Newsroom, 2026-10-21: https://thainewsroom.com/2026/10/21/zhang-familys-online-casino-interest-could-hold-digital-minister-responsible/
• Image of DSI’s invitation letter to Sirichok (published via Thai Enquirer): https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HVDU6aJa4AAPxl0.jpg
• Original source image caption (reference only): A letter from Thailand’s Department of Special Investigation (DSI) inviting former MP Sirichok Sopha to appear at 13:00 on October 22 to provide evidence concerning Shuffle.com. The image was made public by Sirichok and is cited via Thai Enquirer.
• Note: Sirichok’s statements about transaction counts, amounts, the stake’s valuation and political party funding are all his personal allegations and have not been officially confirmed. The name Bitkub comes from Thai Enquirer’s account of his claims.