Officers from the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) raided the offices after a search warrant was issued on Monday (Apr 1).
CSD Commander Pol Maj Gen Montree Theskhan explained that the raids were launched in response to officials’ discovery of suspicious financial transactions involving a Russian man, who police have not named.
A criminal posing as an official from the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) had scammed a victim into installing an app that allowed the scammer to transfer B500,000 from the victim’s bank account to the Russian’s account.
The funds were transferred to a Phuket-registered bank account in the Russian man’s name, Pol Maj Gen Montree explained.
It was later discovered that the Russian man had withdrawn cash from his account through a bank in Phuket continually over a period of time.
The Russian man also accepted transfers of cryptocurrency coins from an unverified digital wallet, or ‘non-custodial wallet’. The coins were then sold in large quantities by transferring the money to the Thai bank account and the cash immediately withdrawn as cash
From July 7 to Nov 19 last year, the Russian man had withdrawn a total of about B186 million through bank counters and ATMs from three bank accounts, Pol Maj Gen Montree noted.
The suspiciously large amounts were believed to be a form of money laundering.
From examining the evidence presented in order to open the bank account, it was found that the Russian man had presented a work permit confirming that he is an employee of a company in Phuket.
Further investigation by police confirmed that no such company actually existed. It is believed that the company was registered to be used to create false documents to obtain work permits and to providing supporting documents for visa (or permit to stay) applications.
The directors and shareholders of teh company were two Thai women and one Russian woman. The same three were also listed as shareholders and directors of 37 other companies, police noted in their report of the raids.
The three women now face charges presenting false documents to officials and providing assistance or supporting business operations of foreigners in breach of the Foreign Business Act, namely by acting as nominee shareholders, but also by their other actions.
Officials executing the search warrant raided eight locations in Phuket which were listed as registered places of business for 17 of the 38 companies suspected of being part of the money-laundering network.
The two Thai women admitted to having set up a company that registers companies, processes work permit applications and processes visa applications for foreigners, and applies for various licenses on behalf of foreigners.
The actual work involved setting up a company that had no actual operations and that was used to create false documents to apply for various permissions to foreigners, the women confessed.
At one of the locations raided, on the second floor of an office building, officers found equipment set up to resemble an actual office, so photos could be taken as false evidence that it was a place of actual business. Such photos are a standard requirement for work permits applications for permits to stay submitted to Phuket Immigration.
Of note, no Phuket Immigration officers were cited in the CSD report of the raids as part of the operation.
At the second-floor ‘fake office’ location, CSD officers seized: two computers that were used to create false documents and store foreign customer data; stamps for more than 50 companies; and some 500 pages of documents to be examined thoroughly for supporting evidence in the investigation.