BANGKOK, Jan 12 (TNA) – The authorities have seized assets of 1.2 billion baht from a major call center gang network, linked to online football gambling, along with fraudulent activities during raids in three provinces.
The Minister of the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, Prasert Chantararuangthong told a press briefing that the operations at 13 locations in Chiang Mai, Nonthaburi and Bangkok led to the asset seizure of a large-scale call center network.
The confiscated assets will be returned to the affected individuals identified in the initial 54 cases. People who fell victims to scammers are encouraged to submit claims to the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) within 90 days.
AMLO received reports from the Economic Crime Suppression Division (ECSD) of the Royal Thai Police and expanded the investigation to seize the assets of those involved in economic crimes and fraudulent activities related to Ms. Thararat and her associates.
They were involved in various forms of fraud, including operating call center scams, making random phone calls to deceive the public, falsely claiming to be officials and tricking victims into transferring money. They also used fake bank accounts and had financial trails linked to online gambling websites.
Additionally, they engaged in online fraud through Facebook advertisements, enticing individuals to exchange Thai Baht for Chinese Yuan at rates lower than the official exchange rates. When the promised transactions did not occur, many victims were left deceived.
In this operation, a total of 77 cars, 84 land titles, and 50 gold baht (1 Thai gold baht = 15.244 grams) were seized. Money laundering charges have been filed against three individuals, with investigations set to extend to other related parties. The owners of the seized assets must provide explanations for the origins of their properties. -819 (TNA)
