Bank staffer arrested after siphoning tens of millions of baht from Pattaya expats

[Suradit69]

12 hours ago, onebir said:

Suggests weak accounting controls in Thai banks?

Yes, this sort of fraud only happens in Thai banks.

 

[AlfHuy]

Look out for the following:

Sudden new wealth of a few people. New flashy cars, houses etc.

 

The ex-Kasikorn manager soon gets promoted as the new "Head" of the Thai National Bank.

 

He can now pay his way up. Isn't it how it works here?  

A friend mentioned it.

[jacko45k]

8 minutes ago, Fex Bluse said:

Problems are many.

The ones you listed are not anything to do with this fraud really... and you make a lot  of generalizations.... but I got one too..... judging by that crowd I am surprised they have tens of millions of baht of free money to 'invest'

[Brick Top]

12 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

Bank staffer arrested after siphoning tens of millions of baht from Pattaya expats

 

Image: Manager

 

Police have arrested the assistant manager of a branch of a bank in Pattaya who allegedly stole large sums of money from a group of expats and their Thai wives.

 

Police made the arrest after receiving complaints from customers of the branch that money had been going missing from their accounts.

 

Some of the victims also claimed the suspect duped them into investing in financial products, promising  high interest returns that instead, caused them to lose millions of baht.

 

Others said they had deposited their retirement money, which they had transferred from their home countries, into bank accounts set up by the suspect who also facilitated withdrawals, deposits and updating their bank books over several years.

 

The victims discovered that money had been taken from their accounts when their balances failed to match what was listed in their bank books.

 

Colonel Pisit Poonsap from Pattaya police said he expects more victims to come forward.

 

The branch of the bank in question where the fraud is alleged to have taken place was not named in the Manager report. 

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2021-02-02

 

- Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you

- Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

 

The Wolf Of Walking Street ?

 

[Matreusse]

7 minutes ago, dabhand said:

 

TV did not give a link to the bank name in their OP.

 

It was given in a later post with a link to TheThaiger website.

Here's the link that was in the OP...

"The branch of the bank in question where the fraud is alleged to have taken place was not named in the Manager report". 

Click on "Manager" from the OP for a photo of an alleged Kasikorn passbook.

[sanuk711]

4 hours ago, kokesaat said:

I don't like getting a fraction of a percent interest on my retirement but it's the cost of living in Thailand and I live with it.  

So the Bank interest rates in the UK and USA, much much better kokesaat...???

 

[david555]

7 minutes ago, redwood1 said:

Well guaranteed investment condo scheme with returns of 20-30-40% a year have flourished in Pattaya for decades.....With suckers buying in year after year so this bank manger was just carrying on a fine Pattaya investment tradition.....

But for those  maybe some got finally that condo after some legally struggling....(and are now stuck with-it ...)

[khunpa]

So hundreds of people line up every month with bags filled with cash and the Bank Manager has no idea... Sure ????

[Peterphuket]

12 hours ago, ctxa said:

Good that they rejected me when I tried to open account with them for "not having work permit"

Not enough money to bring perhaps?

[jacko45k]

2 minutes ago, sanuk711 said:

So the Bank interest rates in the UK and USA, much much better kokesaat...???

 

I get more here in Thailand, and better to deal with.

[newnative]

    Where was the bank manager?  Hard to believe she was unaware of what was going on.  She never wondered why all these customers were going to a specific employee?  

[scubascuba3]

Would be interesting to hear from victims how they think the 3+% a month was funded

[Peterphuket]

Banks in LOS, I don't know what I have to think about, last time I mention also my bad experiences with Krungsri, and recently for the second time they tricked me with  car insurance.

[scubascuba3]

1 minute ago, newnative said:

    Where was the bank manager?  Hard to believe she was unaware of what was going on.  She never wondered why all these customers were going to a specific employee?  

Banks do like covering this stuff up, bad for reputation and all that, in UK we have a FCA regulator, what does Thailand have? it won't be just 1 person involved. Maybe it's like Immigration where they are all embroiled 

[ICELANDMAN]

16 minutes ago, AlfHuy said:

Look out for the following:

Sudden new wealth of a few people. New flashy cars, houses etc.

 

The ex-Kasikorn manager soon gets promoted as the new "Head" of the Thai National Bank.

 

He can now pay his way up. Isn't it how it works here?  

A friend mentioned it.

 

 And now this Pattaya manager is transferred too one inactive post the Thai National Bank

 

[david555]

7 minutes ago, newnative said:

    Where was the bank manager?  Hard to believe she was unaware of what was going on.  She never wondered why all these customers were going to a specific employee?  

Thought i twas probably the usual normal insurance sales ....????

[Oliver Holzerfilled]

Westerners with a history of making sound financial decisions typically don't end up in Pattaya so this isn't surprising.

[The Theory]

12 hours ago, tgw said:

Phone App (although I don't recommend using a phone app), and SMS service.

Phone app has nothing to do with a rubber (employee) who has access to customers accounts. 
Now we need to wait for updates to see if the branch manager is next. It is usually the case since no employee alone can offer such deals to customers. And usually the headquarter try to cover up the crime happened by bank employees (solve the problem quietly) the for the bank face. 
 

[MarleyMarl]

3.5% per month is 42% per year, how dumb are these people...

[scubascuba3]

1 minute ago, MarleyMarl said:

3.5% per month is 42% per year, how dumb are these people...

Yes Ponzi, they do take advantage of the naive and greedy 

[WayWokeWhiteGuy]

27 minutes ago, khunpa said:

So hundreds of people line up every month with bags filled with cash and the Bank Manager has no idea... Sure ????

“So hundreds of people line up every month with bags filled with cash...”

 

Sure ????

 

 

[khunpa]

10 minutes ago, WayWokeWhiteGuy said:

“So hundreds of people line up every month with bags filled with cash...”

 

Sure ????

 

 

 

“It all seemed so legitimate and I saw many people coming and going at the end of each month, some bringing in bags of cash to invest into the scheme.”

 

“Every time I visited there were people coming in with bags of cash investing for other people.”

 

https://thethaiger.com/news/pattaya/hundreds-of-investors-caught-in-massive-kasikorn-bank-branch-fraud-in-pattaya

 

No doubt the Bank Manager could not have known LOL!

 

[AlfHuy]

Was much easier to call all those "customers" in on a specific day with as much cash as possible by promising a "one of a lifetime 8% monthly interest rate".

 

Once they all queue around the corner, send some mafia friends and they collect the money. No need to go all those problems to do paperwork and such.

[AlfHuy]

HEY MATE, where are you going.

 

Kasikorn, my monthly membership fee.

 

If you want, I can introduce you to my "friend", the manager but, please keep it quiet.

[guzzi850m2]

So where are the money, they just can't disappear? The bank must be able to get at least some of them back? 

 

Yes very naive to think you can get 3.5% per month, even 3.5% per year is almost impossible.

[digger70]

12 hours ago, tgw said:

 

so... what's your second factor authentication on your phone?

 

12 hours ago, tgw said:

 

so... what's your second factor authentication on your phone?

Use a Mobile Banking App for Greater Security

Bankrate.com says that online banking is less secure than a bank’s mobile app. “Some banks that have multi-factor authentication on their mobile apps don’t provide the same capability on their websites. Well-designed mobile apps don’t store any data, and you’re less likely to hear about a virus on a smartphone.” 

There are some exceptions to this, but in general, bigger banks will have better mobile apps and stronger security on them. 

Biometrics Are Coming

Look for two-factor authentication in your financial apps. Although some mobile phone users are using face recognition or eye scans, more apps are likely to require this in the future. Biometrics is one example of a two-factor authentication method. Two-factor authentication is a second layer of security, asking for a second method to verify who you are. Many banks use a password and a PIN, or a fingerprint and a password, are two examples.

[dabhand]

Interestingly, the Madoff scam initially showed total balances due to investors at over $60b. But, when pared down to a money in / money out calculation, the actual balance came to around $17b of which about  $13b has been recovered to date. Those who were paid out more than they paid in were chased for the return of the over payment.

 

Some of the current mob involved in this scam may get a nasty surprise if they have been involved for a period that, at 42% return (more if compounded), has resulted in them being repaid more than their original investment.

 

Whatever, this is not going to end well for a lot of the 'investors' as KBank will be unlikely to easily back down from their current stance. The lawyers, meanwhile, are queuing up for a piece of the action. Popcorn time!! 

[kingofthemountain]

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

Banks do like covering this stuff up, bad for reputation and all that, in UK we have a FCA regulator, what does Thailand have? it won't be just 1 person involved. Maybe it's like Immigration where they are all embroiled 

I think you are right here

we all know how it works in these small Thai bank agencies

you are not in a closed room only you with the manager, all

the transactions are done in the full view of the other employees

the money you bring in is counted by a machine for all to see 

i can not imagine this Ponzi scheme was going on for 7 years here

without all the others bank employees aware of what was going on.

Maybe some ''bonuses and donations'' to them from the manager on a monthly basis

helped to keep all the eyes and the mouths shut around him and his ''business''?

[The Theory]

44 minutes ago, MarleyMarl said:

3.5% per month is 42% per year, how dumb are these people...

Per month means the interest will be deposited to the account monthly, it does not mean 42% annually !!

 

[FritsSikkink]

4 hours ago, ChipButty said:

My wife doesn't trust the Thai banks, so if she doesn't then I don't.

But you do trust a crypto account, rofl.