Immigration checking bank accounts? Officers undergo training in "money laundering"

[scubascuba3]

They will find this money laundering training quite useful

[Gandtee]

6 hours ago, worgeordie said:

Maybe start with Government officials...the results would be amazing.

regards worgeordie

Yes. When I first read the headline I thought it was that Immigration Officers bank accounts would be checked. That would have been interesting.

[ToddinChonburi]

Holy cow now watch these nuts accusing everyone of money laundering.  bad enough when they try to tell you your 800,000 is no good.

[Surasak]

They can check my account any time. I started out with nothing and still have plenty of it left 

[Bangkok Barry]

5 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Up next , your yearly 'money laundering check, 1000 baht' tax

 

Speaking of tax, I received a nice letter from the tax people in the UK telling me I was due a refund, and it could even be arranged on-line. I had to register with them, and as I set about doing it I was constantly waiting for something to go wrong, as I've become so accustomed to here in Thailand. It didn't. Everything worked perfectly and the refund is being processed. Just a reminder of what the Real World is like.

Additionally, I actually received the letter from them. For two years I received almost no mail as the local posties just threw everything away as actually dellivering it was too much of a chore. As there was no proof that the mail had been sent the local Post Office did nothing, even though the entire area rarely received their mail. Now, a relative is the local postman and I get my mail. If not for that I'd have had to go through a complicated process when/if I had found out about a refund being due, as the possibility to do it on-line would have expired.

[SteveK]

This is pretty terrifying in reality.

 

So now immigration are going to be scrutinising your bank accounts?

 

I can imagine it now:

 

- "So where did this money you transferred into your Thai bank come from?"

- "It came from the UK"

- "But how did you get this money?"

- "It was from savings and investments accumulated from a lifetime of hard work"

- "Right - we need a letter from your previous employer in the UK proving that you earned it. This will need to be an original or a certified copy, with a certified translation in Thai. We also need a letter from your bank in the UK proving that you were earning a regular salary, again translated into Thai, and bank statements to prove this. We also want to see you last 2 years of payslips from when you were working, and copies of your P60s to prove that you paid all due tax on the money"

- "I can't get any of those, my ex-employer went bust, I closed my UK bank account, and don't have old payslips or P60s, I haven't worked for 10 years!"

- "Right, then you are obviously a money launderer, we are freezing your Thai bank accounts until you show those documents, and you will be denied your extension of stay"

- "****!"

 

Maybe seizing foreigners bank accounts after outrageous document demands is the final stage of the plan. It makes the odd 2000 baht fine look like chump change.

Edited July 24, 2019 by SteveK

[Golden Triangle]

What they should be doing is teaching these dickwads how to use a calculator so they can then divide a lump sum deposited into a bank account every three months from a legitimate private pension provider and add the sum of that calculation to the monthly deposits from other monthly pension providers!!

 

A mate of mine has just been charged 20k Baht by the immigration department (Korat) that he has been using for the last 12 years because they could see that he had monthly overseas payments into his account but couldn't be arsed to work out that a 3 monthly payment from a private pension X divided by Y = Z every month. And that took him over the required 65K per month, and apparently the IO had a big grin on their face as the cash was handed over. Makes me F*****G sick.

[tigerfeet]

6 hours ago, tomazbodner said:

I did money laundry a few times back in the young days. Forgot banknotes in pants' pockets and load them in washing machine. Money came out sparkling clean after drying. Good it's made of cotton, not paper...

To catch them I thought it would be easy but he ho this lot don't know easy .just put undercover cops on the street answer all the visa claim shops send a few emails .what difficult about that .o and offer a expat some money to work with them is this to easy?

[kevin612]

Corruption is everywhere 

[SteveK]

7 minutes ago, kevin612 said:

Corruption is everywhere 

But obviously not in Thailand.

[worgeordie]

Looks like this is going to be the next thing,asking where our money comes from,

while the real villains,HiSo's move millions,even billions about without trouble.

 

 We are the wrong people to be asking about money laundering,pensioners,

with all the black money flowing around Thailand,they need to look nearer

to home.

regards worgeordie

[Krataiboy]

When it comes to money laundering, I doubt the immigration police need much additional training. At least, not if the recent experience of an expat friend is anything to go by.

 

He was having trouble extending his retirement visa because of insufficient funds in his bank account. No problem, said the immigration officer, handing over details of an "agent" who  could help.

 

The contact turned out to be a local lawyer. He offered to deposit the requisite 800,000 baht in my friend's bank account for 24 hours, in return for a 20,000 fee.

 

Back at immigration with documents, passport and a new bank statement, my friend duly got his visa extension stamp and, according to the lawyer, the immigration office received a half share of his "agent's fee".

 

Wonder how that little windfall got laundered - and how many more will keep falling from the expat money tree?

Edited July 24, 2019 by Krataiboy

[emptypockets]

7 minutes ago, Krataiboy said:

When it comes to money laundering, I doubt the immigration police need much additional training. At least, not if the recent experience of an expat friend is anything to go by.

 

He was having trouble extending his retirement visa because of insufficient funds in his bank account. No problem, said the immigration officer, handing over details of an "agent" who  could help.

 

The contact turned out to be a local lawyer. He offered to deposit the requisite 800,000 baht in my friend's bank account for 24 hours, in return for a 20,000 fee.

 

Back at immigration with documents, passport and a new bank statement, my friend duly got his visa extension stamp and, according to the lawyer, the immigration office received a half share of his "agent's fee".

 

Wonder how that little windfall got laundered - and how many more will keep falling from the expat money tree?

I wonder what will happen when IO's turn up unannounced and ask to see the 400k in his bank book 3 months after he got his extension.

 

My feeling is that immigration thought the new retiree funds requirement would force people to stay legal, but instead it has, apparently, sent even more people to agents.

This latest money laundering thing may be the second phase to cut out agents altogether.

 

Then we'll see some real whining on this forum.

[Boatfreak]

 if you are a criminal you have money, if you have money you take an elite visa, no questions asked just pay.. 

[from the home of CC]

40 minutes ago, Krataiboy said:

When it comes to money laundering, I doubt the immigration police need much additional training. At least, not if the recent experience of an expat friend is anything to go by.

 

He was having trouble extending his retirement visa because of insufficient funds in his bank account. No problem, said the immigration officer, handing over details of an "agent" who  could help.

 

The contact turned out to be a local lawyer. He offered to deposit the requisite 800,000 baht in my friend's bank account for 24 hours, in return for a 20,000 fee.

 

Back at immigration with documents, passport and a new bank statement, my friend duly got his visa extension stamp and, according to the lawyer, the immigration office received a half share of his "agent's fee".

 

Wonder how that little windfall got laundered - and how many more will keep falling from the expat money tree?

Could be that they're receiving a crash course on money 'tracking' (rather than the legitimization of funds) to enable them to follow funds going in and out of applicants accounts. The transactions mentioned by the above poster would have raised suspicions with someone who has been coached on what to look for. Doesn't surprise me in the least that a lawyer was involved.. 

[DPKANKAN]

8 hours ago, ezzra said:

I would put to them to be trained to check the accounts of their highly questionable and corrupt both official and business people countrymen and women first, where they will, no doubt, find a hell of a lot 'unexplained wealth' to report than those of most of the foreigners living in Thailand...

No No No!!! You are missing the point. It is reverse psychology!! Showing them how to hide their % of the agents takings so they don't get caught!! ????????????????

[Jimdandy]

11 hours ago, webfact said:

An Immigration seminar in Pattaya was training officers in how to spot money

Why not just cut to the chase and teach them how to play 3 card Monte. This way the scammers will have to out scam the immigration scammer. 

[Sydebolle]

a) the strong Baht exchange rate is partly based on a massive inflow of money (mainly China) which goes into real estate (condos); they buy presently as if there is no tomorrow. This money is partially unknown to the Chinese tax pots. The property then is sold and the funds are cleaner as clean
b) I cross the border between Nong Khai and Vientiane almost weekly. It is without doubt, that some immigration officers - rude and cheeky - quite openly hate Caucasians and make no big smoke about hiding this. Has this new hatred been trained in one of the seminars; do they finish such congresses with the bottom-line that aliens are in general bad? I mean, how would a paper pushing immigration officer well hidden behind his steel desk screen anything for "money laundering" - seriously? 

[Orton Rd]

I have some relatives who worked at klong prem prison, a side line was an extensive gambling business up country. They actually did launder money and would have it hanging up after they washed it. Exactly why they did it I never found out, probably washing sin away or bad luck.

[elliss]

12 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

My wife did money laundering repeatedly

 

Is this new "bigwit" even more paranoid than big joke?

 

      Bring back big joke , he is handsome more .. 

       Big wit ,  my  darling not like him , me too..

 

[mstevens]

It's easy to be blasé about this and suggest Immigration doesn't know what they're doing or there is nothing to worry about, but given rather a lot of foreigners have performed work without a work permit in Thailand and monies have been deposited in to their account for that work, I would not want to be asked to show a bank book when extending a visa which would show a history of transactions that might not be easy to explain.

Edited July 24, 2019 by mstevens

[mstevens]

10 hours ago, PingRoundTheWorld said:

Not their job, not their business. <deleted> Thailand, getting more xenophobic by the minute.

 

Thais just love to catch out foreigners who are up to no good. Report it to the relevant authority and get a cut of the pay-off. This is hardly uncommon, just ask any foreign Pattaya business owners who have been around a while and they will be able to relay many stories of foreigners caught without work permits, not paying taxes etc. The snitch always gets a cut of the pay-off.

[MaxYakov]

What detergent are they pushing?

[skorp13]

So they want you have certain amounts of money locked away in their banks to remain in the country legally then want to crawl through your account to see if it is good or bad money??? Talk about biting the hand that feeds!

[lamyai3]

13 hours ago, Joker Man said:

Christ! Who are they really training and to do what? 

For the time being, they're just teaching them to pronounce laundering. All together now, "money rorn-ding..."

[lkv]

6 minutes ago, lamyai3 said:

For the time being, they're just teaching them to pronounce laundering. All together now, "money rorn-ding..."

Solly one mo time, no understan. Again?

[lamyai3]

11 hours ago, SteveK said:

This is pretty terrifying in reality.

 

So now immigration are going to be scrutinising your bank accounts?

When you've got immigration making arbitrary denials of entry to people on nothing more than a whim, the implications are indeed scary. 

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

At a rime when tourism is declining one would think that they should rather provide customer care training.

[simon43]

Makes one wonder about the security of keeping funds in a Thai bank account.....

 

Luckily, I have no money, so don't have to worry about accusations of money laundering or providing proof of source of funds...

[marcusarelus]

Just now, simon43 said:

Makes one wonder about the security of keeping funds in a Thai bank account.....

 

Luckily, I have no money, so don't have to worry about accusations of money laundering or providing proof of source of funds...

Why?  I get notified of every transaction immediately on my phone.  Why would I worry about an account I've had here with no problems for 20 years?  I worried more about my money in the states when they were turning off my credit cards because I came to Thailand or the hassle of getting a new card by mail here from there.