Five Chinese awaiting deportation after being arrested in Phuket over illegal FOREX trading

PHOTO: SCMP

Five Chinese are now in custody after being arrested over the running of an illegal online foreign-exchange. They were running the business from a residential housing estate in Chalong, Phuket.

Phuket Immigration officers raided the rented property in the Baan Maneekram-Jomthong Thani estate in Chalong at the end of October. The five were arrested and taken to the Chalong police station on charges of working without a Work Permit. The announcements were made in Bangkok by senior police and the Thai Immigration Chief. The five Chinese nationals had entered Thailand on 60 day tourist visas.

Arrested were 24 year old Chinese female Liu Minglan and four Chinese men, 24 year old Fan Junjie, 34 year old Gao Jiancheng, 29 year old Bai Xiaoxi, 26 year old Li Qiang.

Officers seized five laptop computers, Chinese-language trading notes and 15 mobile phones.

A suspect reportedly confessed that the five were working as FOREX (foreign exchange) brokers for a company in China. They were renting a property in the housing estate for 50,000 baht per month.

Police report that the team were trading Chinese yuan and US dollars through their online exchange. They were advertising their services through Chinese websites and chat applications. They explained to police that they weren’t licensed to conduct foreign currency exchange in China so came to Thailand to evade Chinese authorities.

It is likely the five will be deported to China after being processed by the Immigration department in Thailand.

SOURCE: The Phuket News