DSI Uncovers Cross-Border Bribery & Money Laundering Network Exploiting Cambodian Workers

Picture courtesy of Daily News

The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has revealed a sweeping financial trail involving a transnational network accused of collecting illegal fees from Cambodian migrant workers. The illicit funds, estimated at several hundred million baht, are alleged to be tied to high-ranking Cambodian officials, Thai politicians and former government bureaucrats.

The operation follows a major DSI-led raid conducted on 3 July, in which four targeted locations were searched under warrant, including a private firm in Bangkok’s Khlong Sam Wa district. That company was allegedly acting as a consultancy to assist with foreign worker permits but is now suspected of being a front for money laundering activities.

DSI Director-General Pol. Lt. Col. Yuttana Praedam led the investigation, alongside Pol. Lt. Col. Anurak Rojanaranakit, Pol. Capt. Thanawat Wong-ananchai, and other senior DSI officers. The investigation was filed under Case No. 27/2568.

According to financial records reviewed by investigators, a Cambodian national, referred to only as Mr. A, transferred funds into accounts belonging to senior Cambodian officials and intermediaries. Between 1 October 2024 and 21 March 2025, Mr. A’s account at Kasikorn Bank in Thailand was used to transfer funds 87 times, totalling 3,285,415 baht, to a Kasikorn account held by Mr. B, identified as a high-ranking Cambodian official. A further 39 transactions, worth 3,240,240 baht, were made from Mr. A’s account at TMBThanachart Bank to the same recipient.

After Thailand’s Ministry of Labour issued a new regulation on 26 November 2024, the volume of transfers escalated. On 11 December 2024 alone, a total of 100 transactions from Mr. A’s two Thai accounts sent 15,879,125 baht to an account held by Mr. C. Subsequently, Mr. Cmade 107 transfers, amounting to 15,074,050 baht, to Mr. D, identified as an adviser to a Cambodian minister.

The DSI suspects that the payments were part of a broader scheme involving kickbacks for work permits and under-the-table fees extracted from migrant workers seeking legal employment in Thailand. The agency has expressed concern that the transactions indicate a complex, cross-border money laundering operation.

Investigations are ongoing, with the DSI working in coordination with Thai financial authorities and international counterparts. The agency has pledged to dismantle the entire network and hold all complicit parties accountable, regardless of political standing or nationality.

Related article:

https://aseannow.com/topic/1365662-dsi-raids-migrant-work-permit-firms-in-alleged-bribery-scandal-worth-millions-of-baht/

  Adapted by Asean Now from Daily News 2025-07-09