Thailand has turned its attention to elite visa holders after discovering that criminals are using the programme to conduct illegal activities in Thailand.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has launched a probe into foreign nationals residing in the country on elite visas and engaging in illegal business activities after it emerged that a Chinese national used a Thai elite visa to stay in the country and launder gigantic sums of money fraudulently obtained through telephone scams.
‘Chen Yong Lai is the main figure laundering money for illegal fraud groups in the region,’ said Central Bureau of Investigation Commissioner Lieutenant General Jirabhop Bhuridej.
Chinese national Chen, 52, was detained on 28 April at his luxury residence in Bangkok’s Phasi Charoen district. On the same day, police detained a Thai associate of the criminal, identified only as 44-year-old Anan, in Chachengsau province.
During the raid, police seized 11 million baht in cash, two computers, seven mobile phones, eight bank books, 13 money cards, five cars and other property worth more than 42 million baht. Chen was also found to have operated digital wallets that held 70 billion baht.
The arrests are part of an investigation that led to the arrest of five members of a phone fraud gang last year. The gang set up a fraudulent website to scam people. Further investigation revealed that several others were involved in the crime, including Chen and Anan, who managed digital wallets and converted digital assets into cash.
Police subsequently searched eight locations to catch the suspects: four in Bangkok, two in Samutprakan, two in Chachengsau and one in Nakhonratchasima. Authorities have summoned five other people connected to the suspects for questioning.
Chen and Anan have been charged with state fraud, transnational crime, entering false data into a computer system and money laundering. However, the arrested men deny the charges.
An examination of seized mobile phones revealed that Chen used an application to manage several digital wallets for a gang of fraudsters from a Cambodian call centre.
‘Chen is the main figure of the gang as the Chinese had to exchange digital currency for cash,’ explained Lieutenant General Jirabhop.
Chen lived in a luxurious house and used Thai to buy several properties, including the two-storey home where he was arrested, land, cars, jewellery and other valuables. Police also noted that Chen had a five-year elite visa under the Thailand Privilege Card scheme, formerly the Thailand Elite Card.
‘We are concentrating on criminals entering the country on Thailand Privilege Card visas. Criminals are known to use such visas to facilitate entry and exit from the country,’ Lieutenant General Jirabhop said.
The Lieutenant General explained that Thailand Privilege Card Company Limited issues the Thailand Elite visa and Thailand Elite card under the supervision of the Tourism Authority of Thailand. Immigration officials check the validity of the visas and only allow entry into the country if the holders are not blocked.
‘Effective measures need to be taken to stop the abuse of these privileges. One measure is information sharing between different parties. Verification of financial sources is also required before being entitled to the privilege card,’ Lieutenant General Jirabhop said.
On the day of Chen’s arrest, police also found a Chinese wife and their three children with Thai nationality. It turned out that the children were Thai because Chen allowed the spouse to register a sham marriage with a Thai man who became the children’s legal father.
Read more on the topic: Thailand is ‘occupied’ by criminals from China.
When asked why Chen chose Thailand to do business, Colonel-General Jirabhop pointed to the country’s resources, such as hospitals and international schools, that provide a comfortable lifestyle for foreigners, as well as its ease of doing business.
‘Our system makes it easy for anyone to do business, thus providing a loophole for criminals to use Thailand as a base for money laundering,’ Jirabhop revealed.
Chen sold digital currency for baht and yuan using a non-custodial wallet, which allowed funds to be quickly transferred to mule accounts operated by a gang of Cambodian fraudulent call centres. Police are still working to find more members of the gang.
‘We believe many gang members are hiding in Thailand as well as China and Cambodia,’ said Lieutenant General Jirabhop.
In addition to prosecuting criminals, the Central Bureau of Investigation also runs the Online Fraud Operations Centre, a service centre of the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society that deals with technology-related crimes, including online fraud.
The Online Fraud Centre uses aggressive and defensive tactics. For example, it monitors illegal financial transactions and blocks fraudulent websites or pages.
Since its establishment last November, the Centre has blocked over 5,000 website URLs and arrested many participants linked to a network of fraudulent call centres. Despite the efforts made, people continue to fall victim to phone scammers.
To mitigate further damage, the Centre is working with Thai banks to monitor and freeze suspicious bank accounts and financial transactions in real-time, preventing significant losses.
Due to increased police vigilance, call centre fraudsters have turned to cryptocurrency. Therefore, the Central Bureau of Investigation is working with banks, the Securities and Exchange Commission and digital asset business operators to develop strategies to prevent similar incidents in the future.
You can report online fraud at www.thaipoliceonline.go.th or by calling the hotline 1441.
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