Prayut has taken credit for stamping out corruption and blames the poor economy on his success: "Today the economy is slowing down because previously everybody had money to spend," Prayut said on 5 June 2015 in a nationally televised speech. "But now we have a problem,... It's because some people spend money from illegal businesses and money from fraud. Now the government has come to set things right, causing that money to disappear."