Popular Post snoop1130 Posted June 19, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted June 19, 2020 Raids on gold shops uncover Bt200bn money laundering operation By The Nation "Hanuman" special forces have raided 300 gold shops and gas outlets that police said were being used by drug traffickers in a money-laundering operation worth more than Bt200 billion. Deputy police chief Suchart Thirasawat said on Friday (June 19) that Metropolitan Police had joined with the Central Investigation Bureau, Narcotics Suppression Bureau and other agencies in nationwide raids on suspicious gold shops this week. Police were tipped off by arrested members of the trafficking gangs that billions of baht in drug money was flowing into gold shops, where it was being disguised as legitimate earnings. Investigations revealed the operation was partly being run by inmates issuing orders from prison. Corrections Department director-general Narat Sawettanan has been notified of investigators’ findings. Suchart said several owners of gold shops raided in Yaowarat, Bangkok’s Chinatown, have already confessed to laundering money for drug traffickers. Three-hundred suspects have so far been arrested while another 100 are being sought. Police have also seized drugs and other assets worth Bt70 million. Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30389935?utm_source=category&utm_medium=internal_referral -- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-06-19 - Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you - Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post OneeyedJohn Posted June 19, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted June 19, 2020 70 million is a long way off 200 billion. 7 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post DrDave Posted June 19, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted June 19, 2020 6 minutes ago, OneeyedJohn said: 70 million is a long way off 200 billion. The 70 million was hard assets confiscated. In a money laundering operation, its all about cash flows and cooking the books, and very little to do with hard assets. Thus the differential between the 70 million confiscated and the 200 billion value of the operation. 16 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post ThailandRyan Posted June 19, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted June 19, 2020 Say it isn't so, and what of the Government Pawn shops, are they not just a cover to launder money, from the government folks that is... 6 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post robblok Posted June 19, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted June 19, 2020 11 minutes ago, OneeyedJohn said: 70 million is a long way off 200 billion. Do you understand how money laundering works ? It does not mean they have currently that many assets. It means they cleaned 200 billion. Making illegal money legal. Then distributing it. It would be foolish to keep it. That money has been spend now. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Pilotman Posted June 19, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted June 19, 2020 so when will they bust the condo construction scam? 10 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post pattjock Posted June 19, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted June 19, 2020 From what I have seen before here on Thai visa many of the gold shops are owned by police officers and the security guards there are off duty police officers. 7 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post off road pat Posted June 19, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted June 19, 2020 1 hour ago, robblok said: Do you understand how money laundering works ? It does not mean they have currently that many assets. It means they cleaned 200 billion. Making illegal money legal. Then distributing it. It would be foolish to keep it. That money has been spend now. Mostly invested in legit businesses ! 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post bangkokfrog Posted June 19, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted June 19, 2020 11 hours ago, DrDave said: The 70 million was hard assets confiscated. In a money laundering operation, its all about cash flows and cooking the books, and very little to do with hard assets. Thus the differential between the 70 million confiscated and the 200 billion value of the operation. Understood, but how can we be sure that the 70 million confiscated was all that was found. Hard to believe that some of what was found didn't fall off the back of the police pick-up. 2 2 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Bob12345 Posted June 20, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted June 20, 2020 2 hours ago, bangkokfrog said: Understood, but how can we be sure that the 70 million confiscated was all that was found. Hard to believe that some of what was found didn't fall off the back of the police pick-up. We can't be sure, but does it really matter much? The key point is that the money laundering ring has been busted, people got arrested, and hopefully drug dealers and other criminals will get into some trouble for this (legal or financial). 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grumpy one Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 2 hours ago, bangkokfrog said: Understood, but how can we be sure that the 70 million confiscated was all that was found. Hard to believe that some of what was found didn't fall off the back of the police pick-up. The boys do hope to get a tip 10% maybe ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post hansnl Posted June 20, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted June 20, 2020 13 hours ago, pattjock said: From what I have seen before here on Thai visa many of the gold shops are owned by police officers and the security guards there are off duty police officers. Most, if not all, of the goldshops are Chinese owned. Rumours say that "squeeze" seems to be an accepted way of doing business. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Benmart Posted June 20, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted June 20, 2020 13 hours ago, pattjock said: From what I have seen before here on Thai visa many of the gold shops are owned by police officers and the security guards there are off duty police officers. The snake, of which there are many varieties, infests society and is protected by larger snakes that benefit from this sordid relationship. So many holes. So many snakes. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post car720 Posted June 20, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted June 20, 2020 It will be interesting to see what happens when everyone must use digital money. 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post BigStar Posted June 20, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted June 20, 2020 When are they going to raid all the shopping malls? TVF Shopping Mall Analysts have never seen any shoppers in any Thai mall and so determined the malls are money laundering operations. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpkhk Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 Well at least we know it wasn't via Rabbit Cards without a full KYC. AML has been stated as the reason for blocking access to Lazada Wallet / Grab Wallet to foreigners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender Rodriguez Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 at a 10 percent cleaning fee, the gold shops are off course happy to help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyChristo Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 16 hours ago, OneeyedJohn said: 70 million is a long way off 200 billion. I wondered why those gold shops were so prolific no customers plenty of staff. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyChristo Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 16 hours ago, DrDave said: The 70 million was hard assets confiscated. In a money laundering operation, its all about cash flows and cooking the books, and very little to do with hard assets. Thus the differential between the 70 million confiscated and the 200 billion value of the operation. Not to mention great way of taking money over seas. Convert to gold make a <deleted> bracelet and bingo no questions at customs. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardColeman Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 Never been in a gold shop, never will. Don't wear any jewelry and never have. I'll keep my money in my UK property - chances of someone stealing my land is near to zero, chances of walking in Thailand like Mr. T and getting mugged are a lot higher 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmacken306 Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 16 hours ago, DrDave said: The 70 million was hard assets confiscated. In a money laundering operation, its all about cash flows and cooking the books, and very little to do with hard assets. Thus the differential between the 70 million confiscated and the 200 billion value of the operation. When i moved here I wondered why there were gold shops on both sides of the divided road, Thai's don't seen to be real rich, in Big C location and even a little further down the road. All the same company sign......Always have customers.... Whey did it take the authorities so long to see something is wrong? It's not normal to have that many outlets so close together and doing a booming business. I can see opposites sides of the road, the way Thai roads are, but little shops of the same Company, give me a break... Welcome to the real world...... 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leef Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 Money laundering seems to be the charge governments use when they can’t prove/too incompetent/ too corrupt to prosecute the real crime. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post grumpy 4680 Posted June 20, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted June 20, 2020 Money laundering, So thats how its done, Went on Lazarda the other night, but was unable to use Lazarda Wallet, REASON, Thai Government has banned Foreigners (not Thais) saying to prevent money laundering, was only spending 845 baht, 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwill Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 No watch stores raided? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkok Barry Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 2 hours ago, BigStar said: When are they going to raid all the shopping malls? TVF Shopping Mall Analysts have never seen any shoppers in any Thai mall and so determined the malls are money laundering operations. Absolutely agree with you. I've never seen one, not one, customer in any of the hi-so designer bag/watch/pen/clothes shops. With the huge rents they pay they must lose a fortune. But they probably have 'influential' owners or 'private' customers who have to hide their 'unusual wealth'. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moe666 Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 When I lived in america we would watch a new building going up, when the windows were installed are they more high=end than the rest of the structure. If the windows didn't fit in with the whole pitcure we figured someone had a bit of cash on hand they didn't want to account for 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burma Bill Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 2 hours ago, car720 said: It will be interesting to see what happens when everyone must use digital money. CHAOS!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezzra Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 (edited) not sure what took them so long to get to it... someone must have got pi**ed off someone high up there or didn't pay the dues to bring the ire of the law enforcement people on the racket... Edited June 20, 2020 by ezzra 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shammy Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 (edited) How amazingly stupid these Thais are... they would not let me put a few hundred baht on my rabbit card in case i was "money Laundering" , really on my rabbit card. 5555555 and yet here we are with the Police and security guards running gold shops laundering 200 bn baht... What a joke they are. How can they even manage to get out of bed in the morning without assistance?? Edited June 20, 2020 by Shammy Typo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwonitoy Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 18 hours ago, OneeyedJohn said: 70 million is a long way off 200 billion. What happened to that 40 million in court? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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