DSI Uncovered The Money Extortion Ring, Laundering Through The Cambodian Officials

DSI Uncovered The Money Extortion Ring, Laundering Through The Cambodian Officials

On Thursday, July 3, 2025, at 1:30 PM, Police Major Yutthana Praedam, Director-General of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), along with Police Lieutenant Colonel Anurak Rojnirankit, Deputy Director-General of the DSI, visited the officers for an operational inspection, in which Police Captain Thinavudth Silapat, Director of the Bureau of Foreign Affairs and Transnational Crime, Police Lieutenant Colonel Thanawat Wonganunchai, Special Case Expert, and Mr. Jinnakorn Kaewsri, Deputy Director of the Bureau of Criminal Money Laundering, conducted an evidence search on the money extortion ring, which extorted money from foreign workers and laundered it through the Cambodian officials.

This operation followed a complaint letter received from the “Affected Employer Group,” stating:

As the Ministry of Labour had issued out the Notification of the Ministry on November 26, 2024, stated that workers from Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, whose employment permit would expire on February 13, 2025, were allowed to extend their permits. Those workers included 2,012,856 Burmese workers, 287,557 Cambodian workers, 94,132 Laotian workers, and 3,673 Vietnamese workers, and in order to proceed with the extension, they were required to obtain approval from the embassy and the recruitment agency of their respective countries.

Consequently, the money extortion ring began, extorting money from workers who intended to extend the permits. Each worker was forced to pay an additional charge of 2,500 Baht, on top of the regular charges specified by the government. The Thai agents would notify the employers and the foreign workers to transfer the charge to the mule accounts, which also managed by other foreigners. Any worker who did not pay this additional charge would not receive the approval to extend the employment permit. As a result, the workers paid the charge out of fear of being arrested. This money extortion ring has caused damages to several parties, namely, the foreign workers, the employers, and the employer companies.

After tracing the financial trail, DSI officers discovered that some of the money had been transferred to the Cambodian officials. On Thursday, July 3, 2025, DSI officers conducted a search at 4 locations where the recruitment agency companies that bring foreign workers to work in Thailand and process the permit extensions for Cambodian workers reside throughout Bangkok. As a result, useful evidence has been found and is ready for further investigation.