Thai immigration police arrested a 37-year-old Chinese man identified as Wu at a luxury housing estate in Bangkok’s Saphan Sung district on Oct. Chinese authorities wanted him over alleged links to a loan-sharking gang and a transnational criminal network.
Investigators alleged that Wu helped recruit people to open bank accounts and collected bank cards and account information for money-laundering groups. They linked the network to more than 133 accounts and transactions exceeding 500 million yuan, or about 2 billion baht. Police also alleged that he exchanged digital and foreign currencies for criminal groups and arranged visas for people connected to other suspected laundering cases.
Authorities said Wu tried to avoid detection by using false documents to report his accommodation, changing vehicle registration plates and altering his car’s appearance with a new wrap. Investigators traced him to a suspected hiding place in the Ramkhamhaeng area before moving in to detain him.
Immigration checks found that his permission to remain in Thailand had expired by about three years and eight months. He was charged under Section 81 of Thailand’s Immigration Act 1979 with remaining in the country after his permission to stay had ended.
Officials transferred Wu to investigators for legal proceedings and said deportation procedures would begin after the Thai case. Thai authorities plan to coordinate with Chinese officials so he can be returned to face the outstanding arrest warrant. Thailand’s Immigration Bureau said it would intensify screening of foreign nationals and investigations into transnational crime, mule accounts and money laundering.