Crimeupdated 1h ago2 min read
Thai Police Arrest Chinese Suspect Linked To $75M Crypto And Money-Laundering Network In Bangkok
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Thai immigration police arrested a 37-year-old Chinese national in Bangkok. Linked to a $75 million cross-border crime network moving funds via 133 accounts.
Bangkok arrest, $75M alleged
Thai immigration police arrested a 37-year-old Chinese man wanted by Chinese authorities over alleged links to a transnational criminal network in Bangkok’s Saphan Sung district on October 16, after investigators said he evaded capture for more than three years. Investigators said the network handled more than 500 million yuan ($75 million) in transactions through more than 133 accounts, and police alleged the suspect was involved in cryptocurrency and foreign-currency exchanges for criminal groups.
Investigators detained the suspect at a luxury housing estate in Bangkok’s Saphan Sung district, and police alleged the operation involved a money-laundering scheme tied to a loan-sharking gang. Thai police found the suspect in a luxury house in Bangkok after he used forged documents to report his residence and changed vehicle registration plates before arrest.
Accounts, visas, and evasion
Thai authorities said the suspect, identified as Mr. Wu (also named as Wu Chaoshuai), allegedly recruited people to open mule accounts and then managed more than 133 of them on behalf of criminal enterprises.
Police alleged Wu’s accounts supported crypto and foreign-currency exchange operations for criminal groups, and the alleged transaction volume was put at more than 500 million yuan, or about $70–75 million.
Wu was also allegedly involved in exchanging digital and foreign currencies for transnational criminal groups and arranging visas for individuals linked to other suspected money-laundering cases.
Immigration checks found Wu’s permission to remain in Thailand had expired approximately three years and eight months earlier, and police charged him with remaining in the Kingdom after his permission to stay had expired under Section 81 of Thailand’s Immigration Act 1979.
Deportation and wider crackdown
Thai authorities said they would begin deportation procedures and coordinate with Chinese officials to arrange the suspect’s return to face an outstanding arrest warrant in China. Cointelegraph said the suspect’s Thai visa had expired more than three years ago, so he would face legal proceedings before authorities coordinate his return to China to face the outstanding warrant.
Immigration Bureau Commissioner Pol Lt Gen Nopasilp Poolsawat instructed officers to intensify efforts against foreign fugitives and transnational criminal networks, particularly those involving mule accounts and money laundering. Cointelegraph said the arrest followed broader enforcement activity, including a Disruption Week operation led by the US Department of Justice’s Scam Center Strike Force that involved Meta, Microsoft and Starlink and led to arrests by the Royal Thai Police Anti-Cyber Scam Center.