Pattaya: 100+ foreigners want their money back from Thai bank - "you stole our future" says one

[webfact]

Picture: Manager

 

It should have been a weekend of peace and goodwill to all men, but that was furthest from the thoughts of a group of 100 and more foreigners and Thais who have lost 300 million baht.

 

They claim that an assistant manager at a branch of Kasikorn bank took their money and promised high returns on investments that didn't materialize.

 

Armed with placards made of boards and PVC pipe they protested at the Pattaya police station and the bank branch after no developments in the case that has rumbled on for months.

 

They all want their money back and interest of 7.5% going back to when they lost it.

 

They have hired a lawyer called Sirichai Piyapichetkul who said that his clients are being patient but that is wearing thin.

 

The Pattaya police chief said the matter is in hand and they are still gathering evidence that will be presented on January 5th. Officials of the bank have been working with police, he claimed.

 

If that date does not provide a satisfactory outcome Sirichai said that the Thais and foreigners will be marching on Government House and the bank's head office in Pahonyothin Road, Bangkok for justice. 

 

Manager said in their headline that this would likely take place on January 11th. 

 

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[RandolphGB]

Why have they written their placards in broken English?

[RandiRona]

Just now, RandolphGB said:

Why have they written their placards in broken English?

So that Thai press can understand and possibly publish!

[ikke1959]

If the interest is low and you want to make more of your money you have to take more risks. I worked a long time in the bank and I know it for years... If it goes wrong there is always a chance that you loose your money more or less, but that is the risk.. Results from the past are not sure in the future..

Edited December 27, 2021 by ikke1959

[ezzra]

Getting money back from a Thai being a foreigner is like getting water out of a stone, but i'm sure that this story has a lot more to it than just handing the money over without any solid guarantee and full documentations to back up their claims, Or did they?...

Edited December 27, 2021 by ezzra

[fredscats]

2 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

If the interest is low and you want to make more of your money you have to take more risks. I worked a long time in the bank and I know it for years... If it goes wrong there is always a chance that you loose your money more or less, but that is the risk.. Results from the past are not sure in the future..

This was not risk but pure theft

[dyertribe]

19 minutes ago, RandolphGB said:

Why have they written their placards in broken English?

Just because they are Caucasian, it doesn't mean that English is their first language ...

[Eff1n2ret]

25 minutes ago, RandolphGB said:

Why have they written their placards in broken English?

Indeed, "K Bank not return our money" looks like a request.

[ikke1959]

21 minutes ago, fredscats said:

This was not risk but pure theft

we don't know what they did with the money... invest in bad enterprises?? Stock exchange? Crypto?

[Berkshire]

33 minutes ago, webfact said:

They claim that an assistant manager at a branch of Kasikorn bank took their money and promised high returns on investments that didn't materialize.

A little more detail would be helpful.  Did these people voluntarily invest in this scheme?  Or was it done without their knowledge?  If the latter, it's simply fraud and the bank must redeem.  If the former....might be a little more complicated.

[SAFETY FIRST]

38 minutes ago, RandolphGB said:

Why have they written their placards in broken English?

Maybe they're Broken English Men 

[FritsSikkink]

10 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

we don't know what they did with the money... invest in bad enterprises?? Stock exchange? Crypto?

You don't know, the money never got invested.

[Eff1n2ret]

3 minutes ago, Berkshire said:

A little more detail would be helpful.  Did these people voluntarily invest in this scheme?  Or was it done without their knowledge?  If the latter, it's simply fraud and the bank must redeem.  If the former....might be a little more complicated.

I don't think it's that complicated. As best I recall the original story, these unfortunate people were persuaded to deposit their funds by a bank employee working in his bank and issuing them with passbooks which were not recorded on the bank's database, and he pocketed the funds himself.

[BE88]

Immigration told them to deposit 800,000 B in the Thai banks and you would have the Visa extension.

 

Edited December 27, 2021 by BE88

[worgeordie]

19 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

we don't know what they did with the money... invest in bad enterprises?? Stock exchange? Crypto?

I think it went straight in the thieving bastards pocket , nothing really

to do with the Bank (they will say) he just worked there.

regards Worgeordie

[Hamus Yaigh]

15 minutes ago, Eff1n2ret said:

I don't think it's that complicated. As best I recall the original story, these unfortunate people were persuaded to deposit their funds by a bank employee working in his bank and issuing them with passbooks which were not recorded on the bank's database, and he pocketed the funds himself.

If true isn't this a pertinent fact that seems to have evaded the o/p?

[tomazbodner]

Generally the higher the risk, the higher the reward. The more desperate, the higher the reward offered. So yes, for people who go for high rewards, they also must accept high risks. It's not just this lot, but in general people who expect a 30% a month return on investment should ask themselves - well, where would that 30% come from? And if it is so easy double your amount every 3 months or so, why isn't everyone doing it?

 

Reality, though, is that the amount of money available is limited. For you to get something, someone else needs to lose that (unless you're dealing with Federal Reserve which can just print some more).

 

Hence if something looks too good to be true, it probably is, and people fall for it because of greed.

 

But for this lot, if they still have any money left... I'm a Nigerian prince and have 300 million dollars (THREE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS) to give away. All I need from them is their bank account number, username and password, and them to pay the transaction fees up-front. Hang on, I'm just creating new email, [email protected] to inform them of my kind offer...

[userabcd]

1 hour ago, RandolphGB said:

Why have they written their placards in broken English?

Not enough space on the placards and the meaning gets across in as few words as possible.

Edited December 27, 2021 by userabcd

[Chris.B]

I think there is a lot more to this story so best to wait and see what develops.

 

[sungod]

31 minutes ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

Maybe they're Broken English Men 

They certainly would be if their favorite game was cricket.

[Father of Godfahter]

47 minutes ago, Eff1n2ret said:

Indeed, "K Bank not return our money" looks like a request.

This is how I talk to my tgf

[ThailandRyan]

39 minutes ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

Maybe they're Broken English Men 

You meant English men that have been broken by Thai women and are now broke...

[smedly]

1 hour ago, fredscats said:

This was not risk but pure theft

many have fallen victim to this sort of crime, what is different here is that this crook was a representative of K Bank and selling none existant investment products to customers on bank premises and openly lying and stealing their money, K Bank needs to return the money and this crook needs to go to jail

[khunPer]

7.5 percent interest from a bank sounds unrealistic to me, there must be more to that story than revealed here...????

[shady86]

1 hour ago, RandolphGB said:

Why have they written their placards in broken English?

Must be farangs from non English speaking countries. 

[mahtin]

18 minutes ago, smedly said:

many have fallen victim to this sort of crime, what is different here is that this crook was a representative of K Bank and selling none existant investment products to customers on bank premises and openly lying and stealing their money, K Bank needs to return the money and this crook needs to go to jail

After the assistant manager of a famous bank in Pattaya was notified by the agency bank until he was taken to prison at the beginning of the month last Feb. After the bank documents were burned and the evidence was damaged.

 

https://mgronline.com/onlinesection/detail/9640000127314

google translate

[bulmercke]

Can't see how the bank was unaware of what was going on if the depositors were issued bank books with their current balances showing. Surely that meant their funds were in the bank's system. Maybe their accounts were joint accounts with the accused. Assuming they were allowed to keep their bank books in the first place.

[worgeordie]

Common sense should warn you not to invest in

anything that seems to good to be true, loose

your money at retirement age ,and it will be near

impossible for anyone to come back from that.

regards worgeordie

[Callmeishmael]

1 minute ago, bulmercke said:

Can't see how the bank was unaware of what was going on if the depositors were issued bank books with their current balances showing. Surely that meant their funds were in the bank's system. Maybe their accounts were joint accounts with the accused. Assuming they were allowed to keep their bank books in the first place.

If I recall the original story correctly, the con-man used his office in the bank and issued passbooks and statements using official bank documents, but never entered any of the information into the bank's official books.  He basically ran a Ponzi scheme for several months right in his office and pocketed millions.  The bank claims that they don't own the victims anything, as they did not have real accounts with the bank!   Furthermore, we are expected to believe that the bank manager or the other bank employees didn't see to notice anything suspicious about the line of foreigners queuing up outside the assistant manager's office every payday with bags of cash!

[Fat is a type of crazy]

If they have walked into  a bank, have been seen by the allegedly dodgy Manager and done business on premises and been given documents on Kasikorn letterhead, surely the bank is liable. 

They have to take responsibility for the rogue employee.

If the manager said I'll meet you off site to show you my products as a separate contractor or consultant then the bank might have a case. 

Edited December 27, 2021 by Fat is a type of crazy