Thailand’s government has launched a criminal probe after officials concluded that a nationwide iris-scanning campaign tied to Worldcoin-linked activity collected sensitive biometric data without adequate legal safeguards. The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DES) and the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) say the case raises national security and money-laundering red flags. Thai Enquirer and state broadcaster NBT World reported on a joint DES-DSI news conference where the annoucement was made.
Thailand Declares Worldcoin Iris-Scanning Illegal, Launches Criminal Probe
3 February 2026 - 10:39 CET
By Sandmark staff
Ministers said at the briefing that a March 27, 2024 memorandum of understanding with Singapore-based Prime Opportunity Fund VCC, the foreign counterparty linked to the project, showed procedural issues: the agreement was approved in two days, objections from the Office of the Attorney General were allegedly ignored, and internal publicity was suppressed, preventing normal oversight. Authorities have cancelled the MoU and forwarded evidence to the Ministry of Justice and the DSI.
Officials say more than 1.2mn Thais may have had their irises scanned, often in exchange for Worldcoin (WLD) tokens, a figure that, if confirmed, greatly expands the dataset at issue and amplifies the risk profile because iris templates are effectively permanent biometric identifiers. Thai data regulators have ordered a suspension of scanning activities and the deletion of Thai biometric records pending the investigation.
Probes in other jurisdictions
Worldcoin’s use of “Orb” hardware and incentive-driven enrolment has attracted regulatory probes in other jurisdictions and sustained media scrutiny from outlets including Time and Reuters, which have chronicled both the rapid sign-ups and privacy concerns around storing or sharing biometric templates.
Independent technical and medical literature underscores the stakes. Recent reviews highlight both the accuracy of iris recognition in controlled settings and persistent vulnerabilities that make large, centralized iris datasets particularly sensitive. Regulators cite these technical concerns when treating iris data as equivalent to DNA in sensitivity.
