Bangkok, October 8, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Thai politician and financier Vorapak Tanyawong to drop his criminal defamation suit against investigative reporter Tom Wright, following a Thai court’s decision to hear two separate complaints.
Wright, the Singapore-based co-founder of the corruption-focused Whale Hunting newsletter, told CPJ that the
two charges
focus on his reporting alleging that Vorapak was involved in a criminal network that laundered funds from Cambodian
scam centers
through Thai financial institutions.
Vorapak, who resigned as deputy finance minister in October 2025, days after Whale Hunting published one of several investigative
reports
, has denied the allegations. Wright
told CPJ
that Whale Hunting “will not be deterred” and is “prepared to fight this in court to protect the truth.”
“Thai politician Vorapak Tanyawong should drop his criminal defamation suits against journalist Tom Wright and stop using legal threats to stifle reporting into his background,” said Shawn Crispin, CPJ’s senior Southeast Asia representative. “Thailand’s courts should not be a venue for powerful politicians to harass and threaten journalists for their investigative reporting in the public interest.”
Wright’s lawyer, Korplarp Apaipak, chairman of the Thailand-based Korpniti & Associates, told CPJ by email that the court had dismissed five of Vorapak’s seven complaints, and that he could not yet fully present evidence or request documents from third parties in Wright’s defense because of procedural limits.
The defamation suits against Wright coincide with rising scrutiny of Vorapak’s activities. In a September 15
letter
, U.S. Reps. Brian Mast and John Moolenaar asked the State and Treasury departments to investigate 28 individuals and entities,
including Vorapak
, for possible links to Southeast Asian scam networks and to determine whether they meet U.S. sanctions criteria.
Following the letter, Vorapak denied involveme
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