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

[lodstewart]

5 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

Yes, and like most Americans, you likely think Americans invented everything. 

 

In any event, the issue is people being cheated out of their deposits in a bank, by a bank employee. 

 

 

us Brits have our own Nick Leeson  ????  ha , they were the days! He managed to collapse a whole Bank, without making a penny !

[david555]

11 minutes ago, Lemsta69 said:

crypto

And can indeed loose there too.....so then also try claim back from those crypto guy's ????

[lodstewart]

3 hours ago, xylophone said:

Well done @lodstewart in posting this...........  https://truecrimethailand.substack.com/p/swindling-frog-pattaya

your welcome xylo, it did seem to me that by many of the replies to this, that the true story is not fullly known or understood

(so far) as I am sure there is more to come

[scubascuba3]

57 minutes ago, couchpotato said:

Bold statement....Enlighten us on where this can be achieved please.

Kasikorn

[couchpotato]

1 minute ago, scubascuba3 said:

Kasikorn

Another one word post.  Enlighten us also.

[KarenBravo]

43 minutes ago, Lemsta69 said:

crypto

Sorry, Crypto is more like shares, or ETFs. They go up and down depending on demand.

You could have said corporate debt, but neither are the same as fixed interest rates which was what was advertised to the people that "invested".

[scubascuba3]

20 minutes ago, couchpotato said:

Another one word post.  Enlighten us also.

It went over your head

[couchpotato]

2 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

It went over your head

yep it did...dunce of the year.????

[fredscats]

2 hours ago, KarenBravo said:

If your bank offered you 3.5% interest per month, wouldn't you be suspicious? Especially when interest rates are 2% per year and are clearly displayed in every bank.

Read while ago a Chinese deposited 30 million with this fraud

[Dave0206]

I would imagine some of the investors have not lost full amount they claim if I invest 1 million and for 6 months I received 35.000 baht intrest have I lost 790.000 or 1 million?

Many of these ponzi schemes or pyramid are obviously easy to spot others not madoff ect.

It does seem that thai people are easier to con even though I know this was foreigners and thai.

[Mr Meeseeks]

On 12/27/2021 at 7:53 PM, xylophone said:

As regards that, he was on the bank's premises, using the bank's office, it's utilities and facilities, so I stand by that statement – – the bank is liable.

Absolutely this. ☝️

[nausea]

16 hours ago, fredscats said:

Read while ago a Chinese deposited 30 million with this fraud

I read 130 million. No independent confirmation of this. Maybe some spiel the guy was giving to encourage investors. 

[Mr Meeseeks]

So what we know so far:

 

The frauds were carried out at KBank in Pattaya Klang by a KBank employee. Thefts were between 10,000 to 130 million thb.

Hundreds of millions of Baht were stolen, being accepted by wire transfer from foreign funds and never credited to the accounts or taken as investments to non-existing financial products. 

The branch manager apparently didn't know what was going on. ???? ????

The alleged culprit had a fetish for death and gore as evidenced by his social media profiles.

Nothing was done and no questions were asked by other staff while hundreds of customers turned up every month at the bank to claim their interest payments. ???? ????

The accused was arrested two weeks before those customers turned up again, and they were not informed of the arrest. Nobody at the bank thought to inform the customers of this guy's arrest! ???? ????

The accused made strong and trusting relationships with KBank Pattaya Klang customers, allowing him to perpetrate the alleged frauds. ????

The victims allowed the KBank employee to manage their accounts, trusting him to do stuff without oversight. 

In managing the accounts, the accused stole funds then issued bank books showing false totals while the funds were never credited to the victims' accounts.

One Chinese guy was swindled out of 130 million thb.

The Ponzi scheme that promised high-yield monthly returns of 3.5% on their principle was only a part of the overall fraud.

The accused's customers apparently only came to him and no other bank employees during this whole affair so they knew absolutely nothing about it. ????????

These financial products were sold at the bank, by an assistant branch manager, during bank hours, at a branch customer service desk, confirmed with bank books.

There's a strong possibility some of the money was laundered through restaurant businesses in Pattaya and Bangkok.

 

More info is here: https://truecrimethailand.substack.com/p/swindling-frog-pattaya

[Mr Meeseeks]

On 12/27/2021 at 7:56 PM, Liverpool Lou said:

Have bank frauds/theft never happened in any bank branch anywhere in your country, then?

They do happen in Thai though, allegedly even by family members of the Thai PM.

 

In 1987, when Chuan was Parliament Speaker, his younger brother Raluek Leekpai (ระลึก หลีกภัย) was charged with embezzling 231.8 million THB (approx. 9 million USD in 1987) from Thai Farmers Bank. Raluek had been an executive at TFB. Responding to accusations in Parliament, Chuan publicly defended the innocence of his brother. Raluek fled the country, and only returned to Thailand in 2004 after the statute of limitations expired on his crime and he couldn't be prosecuted. He had been on the run as a fugitive in Taiwan. Raluek has said he might enter politics in order to restore his reputation, although he said he wanted to live a quiet life in his Trang hometown.

https://www.liquisearch.com/chuan_leekpai/raluek_leekpai_scandal

 

Another wee one from Uttaradit https://www.nationthailand.com/national/30357034

[Yellowtail]

23 minutes ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

So what we know so far:

 

The frauds were carried out at KBank in Pattaya Klang by a KBank employee. Thefts were between 10,000 to 130 million thb.

Hundreds of millions of Baht were stolen, being accepted by wire transfer from foreign funds and never credited to the accounts or taken as investments to non-existing financial products. 

The branch manager apparently didn't know what was going on. ???? ????

The alleged culprit had a fetish for death and gore as evidenced by his social media profiles.

Nothing was done and no questions were asked by other staff while hundreds of customers turned up every month at the bank to claim their interest payments. ???? ????

The accused was arrested two weeks before those customers turned up again, and they were not informed of the arrest. Nobody at the bank thought to inform the customers of this guy's arrest! ???? ????

The accused made strong and trusting relationships with KBank Pattaya Klang customers, allowing him to perpetrate the alleged frauds. ????

The victims allowed the KBank employee to manage their accounts, trusting him to do stuff without oversight. 

In managing the accounts, the accused stole funds then issued bank books showing false totals while the funds were never credited to the victims' accounts.

One Chinese guy was swindled out of 130 million thb.

The Ponzi scheme that promised high-yield monthly returns of 3.5% on their principle was only a part of the overall fraud.

The accused's customers apparently only came to him and no other bank employees during this whole affair so they knew absolutely nothing about it. ????????

These financial products were sold at the bank, by an assistant branch manager, during bank hours, at a branch customer service desk, confirmed with bank books.

There's a strong possibility some of the money was laundered through restaurant businesses in Pattaya and Bangkok.

 

More info is here: https://truecrimethailand.substack.com/p/swindling-frog-pattaya

I'm not saying any of this is untrue (it may well all be true) but I would would not assume anything after the first sentence a fact. 

 

 

Edited December 29, 2021 by Yellowtail
clarity

[Ginner]

On 12/27/2021 at 9:51 AM, RandiRona said:

So that Thai press can understand and possibly publish!

They go for a GET QUICK RICH SCHEME. ( greed ) Which they must know any dealings like this are a big risk. They didn't get rich so now they want their money back. I think I'll try that on the Thai Lottery, Buy half a million tickets and if i don't hit the jackpot 6,000,000, I'll ask for my money back. Do you think I'll get it? Ha!

[david555]

On 12/28/2021 at 5:45 AM, jacko45k said:

That is likely the bank's position. The victims were defrauded by him while he was still an employee, and on bank premises. Sacking the guilty, after the event, does not absolve them of prior responsibilities. 

Yeah i know ...it is Christmas Father christmas is around ...might be now not in red but in green outfit ...????????

[jacko45k]

1 hour ago, david555 said:

Yeah i know ...it is Christmas Father christmas is around ...might be now not in red but in green outfit ...????????

Google translate gave up on that!

[david555]

3 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Google translate gave up on that!

Strange ..if you copy paste it , you would see it is correct translated meaning .......as i did to my language and even to French it gives the correct meaning ....oh poor reply jacko45k....????

 

I challenge other readers to copy paste and translate in any of your languages and you see exact meaning of the line

(on sams.mobile copy paste and in the menu on right hand clickthe 3 dots , choose translate ...choose the language ..and bingo there it is  jacko45k ....no need of Google even ....????????

[Caldera]

With regards to the bank's liability, I'd imagine that a court will take into consideration whether a customer could reasonably assume that the products this bank employee offered them were actual bank products offered by the bank he was working for.

 

I've read that he offered 3.5% interest per month. If that's indeed true, I think a customer could not reasonably have expected this to be a legit bank product. In that case, I would be very surprised if the bank were ordered to pay compensation.

[balo]

Who is stupid enough to invest in anything in Thailand?  Be prepared for the worst.  

[digbeth]

If he had access to empty passbooks and letterheads and a way to print arbitrary amount on them, he could have kept a low profile and offer annual 800,000 seasoned in the banks in Pattaya and make a killing 

[jacko45k]

11 hours ago, david555 said:

(on sams.mobile copy paste and in the menu on right hand clickthe 3 dots , choose translate ...choose the language ..and bingo there it is  jacko45k ....no need of Google even .

Pity we are only supposed to post in English here.... Google translate could perhaps do better with some other gobbledygook..

[nausea]

Whatever, most of these guys, or their wives, thought they were getting an edge. Go figure. You can't defeat an honest man. 

[jacko45k]

7 minutes ago, nausea said:

Whatever, most of these guys, or their wives, thought they were getting an edge. Go figure. You can't defeat an honest man. 

I suspect this spread by word of mouth in the main..... people usually have more confidence in something tried and tested by someone they perhaps know. Wonder if it went through falang or Thai wife grapevines. 

[lodstewart]

11 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

I suspect this spread by word of mouth in the main..... people usually have more confidence in something tried and tested by someone they perhaps know. Wonder if it went through falang or Thai wife grapevines. 

he networked it through the Thai wives and other Thai women that he knew, and paid them a commision for successful referalls

[jacko45k]

20 minutes ago, lodstewart said:

he networked it through the Thai wives and other Thai women that he knew, and paid them a commision for successful referalls

Aha, that surely would work. I do see quite a few mixed couples here, where the man is somewhat led by the.... well I will say nose. 

Edited December 30, 2021 by jacko45k

[nausea]

28 minutes ago, lodstewart said:

he networked it through the Thai wives and other Thai women that he knew, and paid them a commision for successful referalls

It takes a long time to understand that your thai wife may be a little stupid. Like, my girl gets one in ten things right. Put money into this, put money into that, eventually you hit the jackpot. What I would ask, is has she done it before? My girl has. I have hopes for her but I wouldn't depend on it.

[Andre0720]

On 12/27/2021 at 9:49 AM, RandolphGB said:

Why have they written their placards in broken English?

They learned English from Thai people.

[Leaver]

On 12/28/2021 at 2:47 PM, xylophone said:

However one thing that does bother me is irrespective of what the bank may try to say with regards to the fact that once the employee stole some money he ceased to be an employee, as the bank never took action (because they didn't know about it), never reviewed his employment or indeed fire him, then to all intents and purposes, and especially to the victims, he was still an employee of the bank.

 

I did address this in my previous post.  

 

No doubt the bank's fraud mitigation and supervisory systems failed in this case, but that does not make them culpable at law.

 

The bank's argument will be, from the very moment he stole the first baht, he acted alone, for his own personal gain, and well outside the scope of his employment contract.  Effectively, working alone, and not as an employee of the bank, despite his crimes taking place whilst at his place of employment.  

 

Think of it this way.  Say he was dealing drugs out of the bank branch.  The bank would not be responsible for drug dealing. 

 

In this case, he simply used his job at the bank to lend credibility to his scam.

 

For many years, even when I was visiting Thailand as a tourist, it amazed me the amount of elderly foreigners that I saw withdrawing large amounts of cash inside a bank.  It may have been for a large purchase, or even just their monthly withdrawal for all living expenses.  I always thought it would be nothing for a dodgy young teller to pass on this information with a simple "scratch of the head" to an accomplice across the road and the customer is followed and robbed, or, the customer's address given and their place is broken into the next day.  The information sold for a "spotters fee."  Should a bank staff member be caught doing this, should the bank have to refund the victims of the robberies?   I would think not.  

 

It will be interesting to see which way the court rules. 

 

On 12/28/2021 at 2:47 PM, xylophone said:

and as regards another point you made about your 800 K in the bank, it is something that I have been pondering now for quite a while, and will look into it in the New Year, because like you mentioned, I'm not sure that my funds are safe here, not just because the governance is Third World, but because corruption is endemic here, from top to bottom, and who knows how that can pan out. 

 

Your funds have never been safe here.

 

Look upon paying the agent as insurance for your 800K.  ????