Russian National Arrested in Phuket Over Fraud Cash Withdrawals

The relaxed visa policy has allowed a lot of low life to come into Thailand and continue their scamming activities unabated. A friend of mine who has spent a lot of time in Russia and does business there says that 90% of all Russians who earn over $75,000 a year are involved in organized crime of some sort.

They don't have much of an economy, outside of oil, gas and minerals, so I guess a lot of desperate people resort to tactics like these.

52 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

The relaxed visa policy has allowed a lot of low life to come into Thailand and continue their scamming activities unabated. A friend of mine who has spent a lot of time in Russia and does business there says that 90% of all Russians who earn over $75,000 a year are involved in organized crime of some sort.

They don't have much of an economy, outside of oil, gas and minerals, so I guess a lot of desperate people resort to tactics like these.

And of course the Ukraine war is making it more difficult than ever to earn any decent income in a lawful manner

I am not sure why the news of his arrest is accompanied by a photo of a woman in a bikini. The story made no mention.

59 minutes ago, SmokeandIce said:

I am not sure why the news of his arrest is accompanied by a photo of a woman in a bikini. The story made no mention.

Anton undercover🤣

I think I got it:

a topless lean guy with a shoulder bag?

next time anyone has trouble with stricter bank account scrutiny due to money laundering issues remember this story. This guy was caught because the banks were diligent in repsponding to red flags

East europeans in general, Russians or Ukrainians have strong ties with mafia and criminal gangs all over the world. Any one of these people in your area and it means trouble. But Thailand will of course prefer to harass the decent europeans who own property and fuss on their visa issues and increase the rates.

Just how much CASH do ATMs usually hold?

฿330k in one session ??

Or maybe they were 16 different withdrawals on separate occasions.

The article doesn't really specify.

3 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

The relaxed visa policy has allowed a lot of low life to come into Thailand and continue their scamming activities unabated. A friend of mine who has spent a lot of time in Russia and does business there says that 90% of all Russians who earn over $75,000 a year are involved in organized crime of some sort.

They don't have much of an economy, outside of oil, gas and minerals, so I guess a lot of desperate people resort to tactics like these.

That's what inevitably happens to an economy and a society over time when you freely elect such repulsive sewer rats as Putin and his gang just because he says nice things to you and makes you feel great again.

Oh, and then you find someone else to blame for it as well. Usually minorities and/or foreign countries. Or the opposition.

That's odd - where else have I seen that happening recently?

1 hour ago, KhunBENQ said:

Anton undercover🤣

I think I got it:

a topless lean guy with a shoulder bag?

Must admit I had to look twice at that ...

Curious how long he has been here and what visa is he on.

2 hours ago, orchidfan said:

Just how much CASH do ATMs usually hold?

฿330k in one session ??

Or maybe they were 16 different withdrawals on separate occasions.

The article doesn't really specify.

ChatGPT: "The number of banknotes a typical ATM can hold varies depending on the model and the size of the banknotes, but generally, a standard ATM can hold between 1,000 to 3,000 banknotes per cassette. These cassettes are modular and can usually be loaded with different denominations. If an ATM has multiple cassettes, the total capacity could be significantly higher, often up to 8,000 to 10,000 banknotes or more, depending on the machine's configuration."

So I guess anywhere between 1 Million to 5 Million Baht (A mix of 100's, 1000's etc)

2 hours ago, orchidfan said:

Or maybe they were 16 different withdrawals on separate occasions.

Or maybe withdrawals from 16 different accounts.