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

 

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70 million is a long way off 200 billion.

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.

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...

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. 

so when will they bust the condo construction scam? 

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.

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 !

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 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).

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  ????

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.

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.

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.

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.  

at a 10 percent cleaning fee, the gold shops are off course happy to help

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. 

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. 

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

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......

Money laundering seems to be the charge governments use when they can’t prove/too incompetent/ too corrupt to prosecute the real crime. 

      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,

No watch stores raided?

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'.

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 hours ago, car720 said:

It will be interesting to see what happens when everyone must use digital money.

CHAOS!!

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, 20206 yr by ezzra

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, 20206 yr by Shammy
Typo

18 hours ago, OneeyedJohn said:

70 million is a long way off 200 billion.

What happened to that 40 million in court?

1 hour ago, Bangkok Barry said:

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'.

I think you missed the point of Jsixpack's  Big Star's post Barry