Thai court sentences Dutch national to 103 years in jail

[kotsak]

30 years in the drug trade,instead of laundering millions of Euros he should have stopped years ago while he was ahead!

24 million Euros how much does a crook want?

Tolstoy had written a nice short story on the subject

[whaleboneman]

no sympathy don't do the crime of you cant do the time!!!!!!!!!!

Perhaps you can enlighten us? What was the crime?

[DLang]

this could have been the biggest payoff in Thai history

24m Euro?

You under-estimate the RTP.

[jerome2]

There is no laundering in this case aparently...he paid his taxes

[AlQaholic]

From all what I gathered, the man ran a legal coffee shop business in the Netherlands. So, you should be really careful to post stuff like "he deserved it", it could be classified as grudge.

After checking the scarce information about this on the net, it is puzzling to say the least that this guy even went to court?? He own a number of cannabis shops where according his brother all tax is paid, he cannot be prosecuted for anything in his home country, but the Thai police was asked to "check" on him and then this??

Definition of money launder may have eluded the court, here is a short explanation; money that has been obtained illegally is processed thru a business entity (such as a casino or second hand motorcycle shop) to obtain legal currency that is hard to track back to the illegally obtained money.

Edited November 11, 2015 by AlQaholic

[jaywalker]

Thai courts convict him of something that "might" have happened in Holland??? This story makes ZERO sense.

"A Dutch justice official told reporters in January they had not asked the Thai authorities to arrest Van Laarhoven and were only after information."

[jerome2]

Any demand of information from your tax office at home is enough to drive you to jail here ? Apparently ... beter not to bring too much money here

[nev]

Apparently ... beter not to bring too much money here

This is a well known fact with living here, and one everyone should adhere too.

[FangFerang]

Do not come to Thailand to compete with any Thai industry. Don't do it.

Dummy.

[micmichd]

Wonder why they even read something from a Farang tax office.

If I want any information from a German tax office, there's simply no reaction.

[The Deerhunter]

It would appear that Thailand has extended its jurisdiction beyond its own borders based on information from the defence lawyer.

If I own a sex shop selling porn and sex toys in the UK (illegal in Thailand) and then bring this money to Thailand, will I be in danger of being imprisoned for money laundering in Thailand?

However, the amount of money involved and the intense interest in this man and his money from the Dutch authorities suggests to me, he is more of a criminal than his lawyers claim, not just an owner of a string of coffee shops. Tax evasion springs to mind.

Yes, I suspect that there is more to this than his lawyers want to say. Yes I am sure he paid some tax in Holland but perhaps not enough. And 24 million Euros is a lot of profit, declared or undeclared from even a string of successful Dutch "Coffee shops." Does Starbucks Holland even make that much? Yes selling grass in Holland is tolerated in "coffee shops" but tax evasion and money laundering is not tolerated. Perhaps he was wanted for tax evasion or other offences in Holland. Perhaps he "laundered" the money out of Holland that he was meant to have paid tax on there. There has to be a good reason why the Dutch authorities were asking for help. But no way would he have ever got 103 years or even the minimal 20 he has to serve here if he had gone to court for any of these offences in Holland, so the Dutch authorities are rightly offended anyway because it was their cop anyway. And of course, assuming the money was in a Thai bank, where is the money now? That is the 912 million baht question. And the answer to that question probably answers a lot of other questions.

Edited November 11, 2015 by The Deerhunter

[Katipo]

Without the 24m Euro up for grabs, one wonders if the local constabulary would have even bothered.

[Asiantravel]

so if you follow this line of thinking if someone becomes involved in that business in say Colorado or Washington in USA (on a legitimate basis because it is now legal there) and brings the money to Thailand to buy a property through their wife are they also guilty of money laundering? not that I am a supporter of the drug trade but I can't understand how you can end up being guilty and with such a whopping jail sentence if you have been undertaking activities that were deemed legal in the other country?

Edited November 11, 2015 by Asiantravel

[tony5150]

Can't he buy his way out of a Thai cconviction? I assume he can...and will. This is just a dog and pony show for the courts in the Netherlands.

[Bluespunk]

no sympathy don't do the crime of you cant do the time!!!!!!!!!!

What crime?

[georgemandm]

Good to see the pick go to jell all drug dealer are low life <snip>

Edited November 11, 2015 by Jai Dee
Profanity deleted

[Kasset Tak]

Just take the death penalty for drug smuggling as a hint... Thailand don't accept drugs and if you are making money on drugs living in Thailand then you are breaking the Thai law, it doesn't mater where you commit the crime it depends on where you are!

Look at the laws against pedophiles and sex offender that are in effect in many countries in Europe, if you have sex with an under aged person anywhere in the world you can be prosecuted and sentenced for that in your home country. Hell, Swedish law even state that because prostitution is illegal in Sweden they you can get sentenced to jail if you would spend the night with a prostitute in Germany where it's perfectly legal (in Thailand prostitution is illegal so cant use Thailand as an example).

[LannaGuy]

Good to see the pick go to jell all drug dealer are low life <snip>

what drug dealer? you think selling cannabis legally is a 'drug dealer'? so is the local Boots then

what's the matter with you?

[meom]

so if you follow this line of thinking if someone becomes involved in that business in say Colorado or Washington in USA (on a legitimate basis because it is now legal there) and brings the money to Thailand to buy a property through their wife are they also guilty of money laundering? not that I am a supporter of the drug trade but I can't understand how you can end up being guilty and with such a whopping jail sentence if you have been undertaking activities that were deemed legal in the other country?

Looks like it.

Thai Judge: So Khun John please explain where this 100 million came from.

John: Well I sold drugs in the Netherlands and the profits I transferred to Thailand.

Thai Judge (gasping for air): The money came from selling drugs??

John: Yes your honor just soft drugs which are legal in the Netherlands.

Thai Judge (scratching his head and thinking who is this dumb kwai): Soft drugs???

John: Yes all legal.

Thai Judge (getting visibly irritated): Legal? No way; 100 year for you.

John: But Judge I paid my taxes.

Thai Judge: No but; your ass is mine now.

[Joe Reality]

It was none of Thailand's business. He broke no laws in Thailand.

It sounds like they just wanted to pocket his assets here!

If they want what you have they will use any excuse... and a foreigners life is worth nothing in the lawless LOS...

[micmichd]

They should negotiate.

[Broeno]

the Dutch and Thai government make me vomit. The Dutch government exchanger someone die in a Thai prison for activities that are legal in the Netherlands.

[Gutenberg]

So let's face it, in the end, the question from Netherlands gov about his bank accounts with details about his person in the request (such as what his business was/is) lead to a false verdict as the judge just took the evidence "transferred legal money from weed business to Thailand" as "against Thai law". Of course the 100 mio THB invested somewhere are currently transferred to another corrupt guy.

Shame on Thailand and shame on the Netherlands. Get the man out asap, he already lost his fortune, don't let him die in Bang Kwang.

Well, Khun Chang O Cha, bring some justice, no?

[wombat]

30 years in the drug trade,instead of laundering millions of Euros he should have stopped years ago while he was ahead!

24 million Euros how much does a crook want?

i don't understand what he has done wrong in LOS?

[sawadee1947]

So anybody got any background info on this?

Seems he might have only evade tax in the Netherlands where the coffee shops where located but he operated legal with a license.

At a result the Netherlands asks for information and the man gets 103 years - because of "money laundering" and in reality because he sold weed legally.

Reminds me of Saudi Arabia and the UAE where you can get locked away for years with 0,002 gr weed.

because he sold weed legally.

maybe he didn't pay taxes......?

[kiwikeith]

Something not right here, if he has paid taxes he is not a money launderer. So what crime has he comitted in LOS???

Must be something missing from this story, an apeal must be looming.

[Tchooptip]

Meh,with Royal pardons he'll be out in 50!

"Johan van Laarhoven, 55, will have to spend 20 years in jail because the 43 sentences can be served concurrently"

[soalbundy]

30 years in the drug trade,instead of laundering millions of Euros he should have stopped years ago while he was ahead!

24 million Euros how much does a crook want?

Apparently he wasn't a crook, he earned his money legally in Holland and paid tax on it. According to his brother, a somewhat aggressively worded document from the Dutch asking for information from the Thai authorities caused this arrest. According to his lawyer the Thais went over the mark in prosecuting him over unproven allegations from the Dutch autorities.

[micmichd]

"Money Laundering" is a strange thing. It is only used when you can't be sued for a crime otherwise, and you actually don't have any chance to prove you're innocent. A sudden asset in yor bank account ("above normal") is enough for the banks to make you a suspect of ML, without even telling you.

This Dutchman might have simply been trapped, but how do you get out of a trap without any information?

Even worse, ML can be used if you do something against the economic "interest of your country". It might be against interest for a Farang organization if you transfer your assets to Thailand instead of leaving them in Europe. Consequently, Big Brother can sue you for putting Thai economic interests above European interests, and you never know exactly why.

Maybe a case for UN?

[micmichd]

"Money Laundering" is a strange thing. It is only used when you can't be sued for a crime otherwise, and you actually don't have any chance to prove you're innocent. A sudden asset in yor bank account ("above normal") is enough for the banks to make you a suspect of ML, without even telling you.

This Dutchman might have simply been trapped, but how do you get out of a trap without any information?

Even worse, ML can be used if you do something against the economic "interest of your country". It might be against interest for a Farang organization if you transfer your assets to Thailand instead of leaving them in Europe. Consequently, Big Brother can sue you for putting Thai economic interests above European interests, and you never know exactly why.

Maybe a case for UN?