Picture courtesy of Khaosod

 

Officers from Thailand’s Economic Crime Suppression Division (ECD) have raided an illicit loan company accused of operating without a license and charging exorbitant interest rates of 30% per month. The company, which accepted iCloud accounts as loan collateral, reportedly has over 5,000 customers across multiple locations.

 

Under orders from Police Major General Thatphoom Charuprat, ECD officers led by Police Colonel Mekphisarn Sripirom and his team carried out simultaneous raids on the company’s head office in Bangkok’s Bueng Kum district and branches in Samut Prakan’s Samrong Nuea and Phra Pradaeng districts.

 

During the raids, officers seized seven desktop computers, three laptops, 13 mobile phones, a file of iCloud pledge contracts and advertising materials promoting iCloud pledging services.

 

The investigation followed complaints filed by victims with the ECD, alleging that the company had been lending money unlawfully while disguising loans as iCloud pledges. The business required borrowers to surrender sensitive personal and device information, including Apple ID credentials and IMEI numbers.

 

To qualify for loans, customers were required to:

 

• Have more than 500 Facebook friends

• Be active on social media

• Provide detailed personal and financial information via a link sent by the company

Once approved, borrowers retained use of their devices but were required to pay interest at a rate of 30% per month, or a staggering 365% annually. Late payments incurred additional penalties of 100 baht per day, and devices would be remotely locked after seven days of missed payments. Unlocking the device would require further fees.

 

The ECD has initially charged Mr. Atthaphon 38 and Ms. Pratana 29, who managed the loan accounts, with:

 

• Operating a regulated personal loan business without a license

• Charging interest above the legal limit

 

Authorities will also summon five company executives for formal charges under the same offences. These are serious violations under financial laws and further prosecutions are expected.

 

The ECD has urged the public to avoid informal loan services that demand sensitive digital credentials as collateral and to report similar operations via official channels.

 

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from Khoasod 2025-06-21

 

 

Nice people !

Scum, nothing more nothing less, hope they rot in jail 😡

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been there, done that. got banned for a bit. no problem . I learned how it can ruin your day when you post comments like these.  it has to be stopped. I noticed on the news today elsewhere, that the UK wants to introduce  a law to make it illegal to ''plan'' to protest. count your blessings, that you are living in a country that has not reached that level of paranoia - yet  

On 6/21/2025 at 7:45 AM, JoePai said:

Scum, nothing more nothing less, hope they rot in jail 😡

unfortunately the law here provides for nothing more than a slap on the wrist - and then you're back out on the street destroying peoples lives. i know a Thai single mother who had 'pay day' loans. the worse part was you could not re pay the loan principal, installments. so you were locked up in loan jail, so to speak. when we head that they started repossessing her house hold contents, we we refinanced her out, with a no-interest loan and a low repayment affordable schedule. these are the issues the incompetent government should address.