Thai woman implicated in Bt1-bn Chinese 'heritage' scheme

Thai woman implicated in Bt1-bn Chinese 'heritage' scheme

By The Nation

The Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) and the Crime Suppression Bureau have arrested a Thai woman who was allegedly involved in a money-laundering network led by Chinese national Qinduan Zhang, who allegedly bilked 33,000 of his compatriots to invest about Bt1 billion in a bogus "reclaiming national heritage" scheme.

The Thai suspect, Aim-on Jitjak, was detained on Wednesday following the arrest of her Chinese husband, Zewen Pu, and faces extradition to China, said AMLO acting secretary-general Pol Maj-General Rommasit Viriyasant.

Aim-on and Pu are among five people that the AMLO has asked Thai police to arrest since October 20 after they were linked to the network, as Chinese authorities have targeted the group since last August and seized assets worth Bt346 million.

The Chinese investigation indicated that Chinese suspects had fled to Thailand and Thai accomplices were involved in the case, leading the AMLO to file a formal complaint on October 20 against alleged gang leader Zhang, Huang Jinke, Zhi Tong, Pu and Aim-on.

Zhang and Pu have already been arrested and sent back to China to face prosecution. With Aim-on in custody, the AMLO was investigating to determine if more accomplices were involved and to trace financial transactions to retrieve stolen assets, Rommasit said.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30333924

 

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