DSI arrests the financial director of a major online gambling website in UFA group

DSI arrests the financial director of a major online gambling website in UFA group

                On Tuesday, November 7, 2023, Police Major Suriya Singhakamol, Director-General of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), held a press conference on Special Case No. 8/2566. The case of the prosecutor’s recommendation that special case inquiry officials investigate and prosecute individuals committing an offence related to gambling and other predicate offences. This case is a continuation of Special Case No. 60/2563 (Chaba Case Part 1), in which the owner of a football club and the owner of a famous restaurant were previously prosecuted.

                Subsequently, the Director-General of the DSI ordered the Bureau of Narcotics Crime to expand the investigation into a group of individuals whose financial transactions are linked to Mrs. Chaba, to identify whether the practice constitutes any offences. This case will be investigated as Special Case No. 8/2566 (Chaba Case Part 2).

                The special case inquiry official team of the Bureau of Narcotics Crime has gathered facts and evidence and found that Mr. Pakpoom (surname withheld) has financial transactions linked to the mule accounts used by the network of Mrs. Chaba (surname withheld). From 2017 to the present, there have been financial transactions for more than 83 linked deposit accounts. Some of these accounts have had a circulating fund of over 1 billion baht. Mr. Pakpoom was close associate of the owner of one of the largest online gambling networks in the country. He was responsible for managing the revenue from marketing agents for the websites. He then paid a fee to the owner of the main online gambling network called UFA. Such actions fall within the scope of the offence of money laundering. The Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant No. 3683/2566 on October 28, 2023, for the charge of jointly laundering money.

                The special case inquiry official team of the Bureau of Narcotics Crime conducted an investigation to track down and arrest Mr. Pakpoom and discovered that he had traveled out of the country and would be returning to Thailand through Suvarnabhumi Airport on Saturday, November 4, 2023 at approximately 11:00 PM. The team then coordinated with the Operations Team of the Surveillance and Intelligence Center to join forces with immigration police officers at Suvarnabhumi Airport to arrest Mr. Pakpoom. He was subsequently taken to the special case inquiry official team of the Bureau of Narcotics Crime for prosecution and later to the Criminal Court for detention. The prosecution opposed bail, and the court denied provisional release. The special case inquiry official team has also expanded the investigation to other networks and seized 83 bank accounts, most of which are owned by foreigners.

                Therefore, individuals who employ foreigners as their employees are warned that banks currently require employers to certify the opening of bank accounts for their foreign employees. Employers should also monitor their employees’ activities to prevent them from selling or allowing the accounts to be used by criminal groups. If an investigation reveals that an employer has failed to take these precautions, the employer may be charged as an accomplice or abettor in the offence.