A 23-year-old man has been arrested and charged for registering a company, opening a corporate bank account, registering a new SIM card and then allowing them to be used for defrauding people and money laundering purposes, police said yesterday.
Pol Col Thirapas Yangyuen, chief of the Economic Crime Suppression Division's (ECD) Sub-Division 3, said that after only three months of the suspect's firm being registered, up to 500 million baht circulated in its bank account.
He said the suspect, who was identified only as Kritsada, was arrested after the ECD expanded its investigation into an online investment scam that resulted in over 50 victims losing more than 800 million baht in total.
Pol Col Thirapas said that Mr Kritsada has admitted to opening the mule bank account, which, according to him, earned him only 500 baht in return.
After registering the company, opening the bank account and registering the new SIM card, the suspect handed the bank account and SIM card to a woman identified only as Ploy, said Pol Col Thirapas.
At this point, the suspect faces multiple charges for his admitted involvement in a transnational crime syndicate, public fraud, violating the computer crime law, money laundering and allowing others to use his electronic card and bank account for known illegal purposes, said Pol Col Thirapas.
Mr Kritsada was also charged for allowing someone else to use his SIM card with intent to commit a technology crime, he said.
