BANGKOK, THAILAND – Thailand’s anti-money laundering agency seized or froze assets worth 778 million baht linked to major criminal networks, including suspected drug traffickers, corrupt officials, fraudsters and illegal online gambling operators.
Wide-ranging action against criminal networks
The Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo) said the measures covered offences including drug trafficking, official corruption, fraud, online gambling and other predicate crimes. According to the agency, earlier cases related to fraud by online scammers that had already been reported separately were not included in the newly announced total.
Scale and composition of seized assets
Amlo reported that a total of 1,307 assets in 58 cases were seized or frozen. In 34 of these cases, confiscation and attachment orders were issued for 835 items, including land, condominiums, vehicles, digital assets and bank deposits valued at 676 million baht.
Drug ring “Freddy” and online gambling network
One closely watched case involved an alleged drug network led by a suspect using the alias Freddy, in which assets worth 31 million baht were confiscated. Another major complex concerned an online gambling network that Amlo said was headed by a suspect named Thada, where assets estimated at 421 million baht were seized.
Fraud with “blessed” stones and property schemes
In a separate fraud case, Feng Shui practitioner Thanawan Jiracharoenwes and co-accused were suspected of deceiving victims by selling supposedly “blessed” carved stones that were presented as imports from China. Investigators put the value of assets seized in connection with this scheme at around 34 million baht.
Investment projects and extortion in state contracts
Further action involved the seizure of assets worth 53 million baht that were believed to be linked to condominium investment models of The New Concept Co. In addition, Amlo froze assets totalling 33 million baht in an extortion case in which a group of state contractors allegedly demanded money in return for protection in public-sector bidding processes.
Transfer of criminal assets to the state
The agency said it was currently seeking court rulings to permanently transfer seized assets worth about 109 million baht from 11 cases to the state.
“The transfer of such assets to the state is regarded in law enforcement as an important tool for depriving criminal networks of their financial base in the long term.”
said Amlo, the anti-money laundering authority.