Money laundering mastermind nabbed: Chinese man busted in Pattaya for multibillion-baht scam operation

Thai authorities apprehended a Chinese man in Pattaya on charges of money laundering over 2.5 billion baht for the scam call centre gang based in Cambodia.

The crackdown, led by the Thai Immigration Bureau (TIMB), was carried out in response to instances of criminal behaviour causing harm to citizens and tarnishing the country’s image. Details of the operation were released during a press conference at 11am today.

The TIMB revealed that the Chinese Embassy notified the Thai authorities about the suspect, 40 year old Xu Wei, who is wanted in China.

Subsequent investigations by the police revealed that Xu entered Thailand on a tourist visa and had been residing in a luxurious condominium in the Bang Lamung district of Pattaya.

Officers executed a raid at his residence, during which Xu voluntarily cooperated with the authorities. The search proved fruitful as officers discovered several mobile phones and credit cards, serving as potential evidence of his involvement in the illicit activities.

According to Xu’s confession, he was responsible for converting scam call centre gang funds into digital currency, gold, and real estate assets. Aside from that, he also coordinated with a group of Chinese people who wanted to buy gold and real estate in Thailand as well.

Recently, two Chinese nationals were arrested by the Thai police at their luxury house in the Prawet district of Bangkok. The two have been deceiving victims in Thailand, the United States and the United Kingdom, resulting in financial losses exceeding 35 million baht within Thailand and a staggering 1 billion baht in foreign countries.

Their criminal activities offered them a lavish two-story house that occupies an area of 600 square meters which was worth over 60 million baht.

The investigation at the house led the police to 16 suspicious houses in the same village. More assets were seized from each house like luxury cars, title deeds, and cash.