IMF, World Bank launch global roadmap to combat online financial fraud

The International Monetary Fund and World Bank unveiled a global roadmap to fight online financial fraud as increasingly sophisticated scams undermine confidence in digital finance.

The “Bangkok Blueprint” developed in coordination with the Bank of Thailand and released during the institutions’ annual meetings on Wednesday in Bangkok sets out 12 policy considerations to help countries identify vulnerabilities and develop comprehensive and coordinated responses, Thai central bank chief Vitai Ratanakorn said.

“The framework calls for a whole-of-ecosystem response, stronger cross-border cooperation, and sharing practical experience to inform evolving global standard setting,” Vitai said during the report launch, adding that it drew experiences from Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Asia accounted for 67 per cent of global fraud losses in 2024, he said.

Scam operations have been proliferating across South-east Asia in recent years, particularly in border regions adjacent to Thailand, which has become a transit hub for human trafficking linked to scam compounds.

The initiative comes as Thailand’s efforts to crack down on scam operations have uncovered sophisticated ways in which proceeds of cyber fraud become a major part of broader illicit financial flow, Vitai said.