PM Anutin Defends Flood Compensation Amid Fraud Investigations
PM Anutin defends flood compensation, saying over 10 billion baht has been allocated and delays stem from verifying claims to prevent fraud like household splitting for multiple 9
At 12:10 p.m. on October 27, 2026, at Government House, Prime Minister and Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul gave an interview regarding Bangkok's flood compensation funds, which the city administration said were insufficient. The premier countered by asking who said the money was not enough. When reporters replied that Bangkok officials had said so, Anutin responded that no one ever says funds are sufficient when asked, but the government already bears overall responsibility. He said authorities are following regulations: local administrations provide initial disaster relief, and the central government supplements when local funds fall short — which has already been done.
In this case, discussions were held with the Bangkok Governor, the Interior Ministry Permanent Secretary, and the Director-General of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation. Bangkok has spent nearly 4 billion baht, with the city contributing 500 million baht and the remaining 3.5 billion baht coming from the central budget reserve approved by the Cabinet last week — over 10 billion baht total. Anutin expressed hope this would not be needed again, as an insurance package would cover any new incidents during this period. He insisted people should stop saying funds are insufficient because the government is already responsible for the big picture.
Asked about public complaints that compensation payments are slow — with some waiting weeks unsure where the bottleneck lies — the prime minister said the delay stems from verifying names and eligibility. He stated plainly that people have tried to use tricks, splitting one household into five or even ten households, which cannot be allowed. Fairness must be maintained nationwide.
The initial relief measure is 9,000 baht per household, period. Whatever the situation, it must be 9,000 baht per household. The problem, Anutin said, is that verification is necessary because cases have emerged where payments were made to those not meeting criteria, and recovering those funds requires official demand letters and causes hard feelings. Previously, authorities waited for the situation to stabilize before paying, but this time they chose to pay quickly for public convenience, though verification must still be rigorous.
