Dishonest Bangkok taxi driver kept the millions - but pays only a 1,000 baht fine

[BestB]

1 hour ago, cornishcarlos said:

 

Beauty project has nothing to do with my reply, to a member asking "how the Chinese bought 90K cash into Thailand" it just happens to be in the same sentence that I quoted..

So 6 people bringing in 15k cash each is nothing unusual, some posters are trying to make out that it must be illegal cash or something !!

"invested 15,000 US dollars each" x 6 equals 90k... 

 

 But you assuming 6 people who showed up did indeed bring the money , which may or may not be the case. 

 

Fact that they claimed they brought $15000 for beauty projects makes it even more relevant, because beauty project has nothing to do with buying a condo , which again makes their statement somewhat questionable and most unlikely untrue but does explain the behaviour and reluctant attitude to pursue this any further

[cornishcarlos]

5 minutes ago, BestB said:

 But you assuming 6 people who showed up did indeed bring the money , which may or may not be the case. 

 

Fact that they claimed they brought $15000 for beauty projects makes it even more relevant, because beauty project has nothing to do with buying a condo , which again makes their statement somewhat questionable and most unlikely untrue but does explain the behaviour and reluctant attitude to pursue this any further

 

Ok.. I'm bored 

[justin case]

cash for a condo, don't they have to follow the same rules as us, transfer wired from home country ?

[Arkady]

5 hours ago, lemonjelly said:

Walking around BKK with 90,000 USD in a 7-11 bag, don’t want to press charges... dodgy 

I guess they are in violation of Chinese foreign exchange laws, in bring the cash out undeclared, and don't want their names publicised.  It would also be a hassle for them having to go to court hearings at short notice, if they don't live in Thailand.  In the end the driver would either be acquitted or given a derisory fine and would be allowed to carry on working as a cab driver.

[yokat]

Tourist get beaten for asking for the meter but some people still think it's fine to carry 3M bahts in plastic bags anywhere near a taxi ? I see a case of people with more money than sense.

 

I know, victim blaming, blablabla... but in a country where corruption and scams are so common it's important to be very careful.

 

Plus, as said by others they were most likely doing something illegal regarding Chinese laws.

[from the home of CC]

7 hours ago, lemonjelly said:

Walking around BKK with 90,000 USD in a 7-11 bag, don’t want to press charges... dodgy 

yea sounds like change for a 'washing machine'

[lemonjelly]

3 hours ago, Arkady said:

I guess they are in violation of Chinese foreign exchange laws, in bring the cash out undeclared, and don't want their names publicised.  It would also be a hassle for them having to go to court hearings at short notice, if they don't live in Thailand.  In the end the driver would either be acquitted or given a derisory fine and would be allowed to carry on working as a cab driver.

But it was in USD, I guess they could’ve just changed RMB to USD, sounds dodgy whatever’s going on though 

[balo]

Some Chinese are filthy rich, I guess they would have survived fine without the money.

[Destiny1990]

Weird the taxi driver  isnt locked up in a jail.

i though taking other people their belongings without notifying anyone and even  lying about this to the police is same thing as a theft and stealing?

Maybe it depends on who finds it.

But How can chinese buy condos cash?

Happy to see proof of chinese investing big cash in Pattaya condos expecting prices going up soon.

[TheHangingJudge]

A clear case of money laundering by clearly very stupid people.

I would not want to be them when owner of money gets the bad news.

[ericthai]

10 hours ago, stillhereandlovinit said:

I bought in pounds sterling when i bought our home, no questions asked. The old owners wanted currency as they were moving back to the UK.

Is it in your name or a Thais name.  If a foreigner the funds must come from outside Thailand.  

[sammieuk1]

Sounds like a Chinese air B&B in the making to me????

[DaRoadrunner]

Chinese don’t trust banks and don’t pay tax. It’s also difficult to get large amounts out of China.

 

Therefore, quite normal for Chinese to carry large amounts of cash in a plastic bag. Who knows how or where it came from (laundered into Thailand).

 

I recall selling a car to the owners of a Chinese take away restaurant in the uk, they arrived with the cash in a plastic bag…. Some take away!

 

I wonder just how much money is pouring into Thailand in this way and how many properties they own? Never mind 'take away', looks more like 'take over'.

[TTL2]

9 hours ago, BestB said:

 But you assuming 6 people who showed up did indeed bring the money , which may or may not be the case. 

 

Fact that they claimed they brought $15000 for beauty projects makes it even more relevant, because beauty project has nothing to do with buying a condo , which again makes their statement somewhat questionable and most unlikely untrue but does explain the behaviour and reluctant attitude to pursue this any further

There are a lot of ways to bring in cash into a country with carry on limit.

First of all, the law started it and in the end the law want to control it, it applies to most countries.
For example, if a foreigner wanted to travel into US as a tourist, they have to meet certain requirement.
- must book hotel in advance (cannot stay in relative home) because the country want a piece of them.
- must have good financial portfolio (at least some hard cold cash on hand, valid credit card or bank statement with at least certain amount I think like US$10,000 and above)
- must buy 2 way airticket

The only thing is, the person cannot bring too much cash in at their stipulated limit.

[gk10002000]

15 hours ago, lemonjelly said:

Walking around BKK with 90,000 USD in a 7-11 bag, don’t want to press charges... dodgy 

You got that right.  Just how did they get the 90,000 USD?  Leaving the USA with that much cash, one is required to fill out forms, at the airport notify the TSA who will be confused, etc..  Obviously many ways to get 90K into Thailand, but just wondering if they brought the money in, presumably from China since they are Chinese.  Do the Chinese airline travel officials care about traveling or declaring large sums of cash?   If the cash is for a condo purchase, doesn't Thailand want proof of transfer, so that later if one sells the condo and one wants to take the money out of Thailand, one has a record of where the cash comes from?  Of course this is if it is proper buy sell which I doubt it is.  Possibly a Thai front person involved

[tabarin]

15 hours ago, lemonjelly said:

Walking around BKK with 90,000 USD in a 7-11 bag, don’t want to press charges... dodgy 

Almost convinced me they were just really nice Chinese but you are right, that is fishy but hey that is how Chinese roll. Cash and Gold.
There is a reason they always have CCTV, even it is a small shitty house.

[Penicillin]

12 hours ago, 30la said:

If you find an honest taxi driver ... please introduce me!

Don’t hold your breath . 

[hotchilli]

21 hours ago, webfact said:

He was found outside a local convenience store and admitted he had found the bag and decided to move house.

????