TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Three Taiwanese were arrested in Thailand on Monday for operating an illegal payment transfer app for transnational online gambling sites.
The trio were arrested during a raid in Phuket’s Ko Kaeo District on Monday, which included three Taiwanese and three Thai nationals, reported Naewna News. Thai police have issued 29 arrest warrants for individuals involved in the operation, with some suspects reportedly outside Thailand.
The gang is charged with creating a smartphone application called Tsnupay that serves as an online payment transfer system to launder illegally obtained earnings from online gambling. The group frequently moves their base of operations in Thailand, making it difficult for police to track them down.
The operation is allegedly run by a Taiwanese organized crime group that works with multiple online gambling websites. The gang members from Taiwan find Thai citizens to open so-called “mule” bank accounts, on behalf of transnational gambling website operators.
One of the Taiwanese suspects admitted that he received a monthly salary of 50,000 Thai baht (NT$48,000) for maintaining the application. Meanwhile, Thai colleagues were paid 20,000 Thai baht for allowing the group to use a bank account in their name, reported Naewna News.
During the raid, police seized 119 smartphones, six tablets, two computers, 19 bankbooks, as well as some illegal drugs. The police operation was titled “Hunting Down the Island, Breaking up Gray Capital,” reported Thai Newsroom.
Gray capital describes business enterprises with some legitimate operations, which are used as cover for other illegal activity. The term is used in Thailand with particular reference to foreign residents who launder money through transnational online businesses.
