webfact Posted November 21, 2019 Share Posted November 21, 2019 Chinese ‘tourists’ arrested in Phuket for illegally operating foreign exchange online Phuket Immigration Chief Col Kathathorn Kumthieng presenting news of the arrests in Bangkok today (Nov 21). Photo: Immigration Bureau PHUKET: Five Chinese nationals have been arrested for illegally operating an online foreign-exchange (“FOREX”) brokerage from a residential housing estate in Phuket. The arrests were announced by Immigration Bureau Chief Lt Gen Sompong Chingduang at a press conference in Bangkok today (Nov21). Also present in Bangkok to present news of the arrests today was Phuket Immigration Chief Col Kathathorn Kumthieng. Read more at https://www.thephuketnews.com/chinese-tourists-arrested-in-phuket-for-illegally-operating-foreign-exchange-online-73705.php#lJsk0FDZGYlUCHly.99 -- © Copyright Phuket News 2019-11-21 Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking Thailand news and visa info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmitch Posted November 21, 2019 Share Posted November 21, 2019 Does every Immigration office have it's own vinyl poster printing machine? How else do they get these posters printed so quickly? Unless they are done in advance at the local print shop, in which case if I were on overstay or operating a dodgy racket I'd be there every day checking my mugshot wasn't all over one of them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J Town Posted November 21, 2019 Share Posted November 21, 2019 13 minutes ago, madmitch said: Does every Immigration office have it's own vinyl poster printing machine? How else do they get these posters printed so quickly? Unless they are done in advance at the local print shop, in which case if I were on overstay or operating a dodgy racket I'd be there every day checking my mugshot wasn't all over one of them! Maybe they make a poster then "find" criminals that fit the bill? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Weird Posted November 21, 2019 Share Posted November 21, 2019 6 hours ago, madmitch said: Does every Immigration office have it's own vinyl poster printing machine? How else do they get these posters printed so quickly? Unless they are done in advance at the local print shop, in which case if I were on overstay or operating a dodgy racket I'd be there every day checking my mugshot wasn't all over one of them! They had plenty of time to arrange their presentation!... "Acting on a tip-off, Phuket Immigration officers raided a house...on Oct 31, Gen Sompong said". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impulse Posted November 21, 2019 Share Posted November 21, 2019 So, let's see... Online business. Customers overseas. Sounds a lot like the businesses that so many digital nomads claim are perfectly legal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFishman1 Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 Sneaky Chineses why they don’t go after all the corrupts here TIT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miamiman123 Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 I love these poster boards... like the international school students do for science week? Ha!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustdevil Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 7 minutes ago, miamiman123 said: I love these poster boards... like the international school students do for science week? Ha!! What, no Powerpoint? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classic Ray Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 Using a projector and screen would be far more environmentally friendly, but would depend on the presenters having some basic IT skill. Would also allow the police media liaison officer to send the presentation directly to the media outlets, doing away with the need for a press conference. Aren't we in Thailand 4.0, or am I missing something here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hotchilli Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 Poster boy justifying their jobs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevenl Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 30 minutes ago, ICELANDMAN said: As big joke has become famous for having put so many farang in jail, it observes how many young chickens want to become the new big joke You realise this involves foreigners, not farang, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unamazedloso Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 the bigger the poster the smaller the..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tropicalevo Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 Thailand has been racist and xenophobic forever. Why is it suddenly a problem now? Thailand was like this before any of us came here. I just with that my home country was more like Thailand and the way that Thailand treats illegal foreign workers and illegal immigrants. Instead, back home, illegals are given cash handouts and somewhere to live, all paid for with my tax money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter14 Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 Thailand do not want foreigner in Thailand . why because we are educating the wife.. the gf the people in general from the outside world. Thailand wants only farmer to get the grip on the people .....education is dangerous. Foreigner is dangerous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mavideol Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 these scum bags are every where, Malaysia just arrested 680 of them as well and yet another 100 managed to escape the raid, it appears the gang operate between Malaysia and Thailand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExpatLife Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 10 hours ago, impulse said: So, let's see... Online business. Customers overseas. Sounds a lot like the businesses that so many digital nomads claim are perfectly legal. the money, or a large portion of it, probably goes into the Thai economy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metisdead Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 Off topic trolling posts and the replies have been removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhounan Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 Where is the Boss? He's always in China???? I know many Thai international "students" in China with Chinese Government Scholarship that do Forex gain money. Thai Police Boys want to know him? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duck J Butters Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 11 hours ago, impulse said: So, let's see... Online business. Customers overseas. Sounds a lot like the businesses that so many digital nomads claim are perfectly legal. The Thais aren’t stupid. Their economy would quite literally collapse overnight and never recover if they ever dared to target the digital nomad crew. Would be like pulling the bottom out of a giant Jenga tower that is called Thailand. Digital nomads are every country’s dream tourists. The Thais aren’t stupid. They know which farangs bring value. You definitely don’t want to boot out the foreigners that are spending north of $500k USD / year ( yes USD ) In your economy. That would be utter stupidity. Doesn’t matter to digital nomads where they live. Booting them doesn’t even phase them one bit. It’s like “meh, whatever”. They can just as easily live in Bali as they can in Vietnam as they can in Russia as they can in the USA. Digital nomads can live in any country that will have them ( and “most” countries welcome them with arms wide open ). Why? They have a lot to bring to the table. They feed many mouths. The only people that will get hurt by going after such wealthy expats would be the Thais. I’ll believe it when I see it but I highly doubt the Thais are stupid enough to target “bread and butter” expats like DMs. But it’s like whatever, no biggy if they do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angloirishaussie Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 they are boiler room scammers put em in jail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Almer Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 18 hours ago, J Town said: Maybe they make a poster then "find" criminals that fit the bill? Worrying thought Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DUNROAMIN Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 Don't these people know how to give a brief without all the pretty charts and posters, or is it a case of the bigger the chart the more pictures are taken of me to look good.????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KKr Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 11 hours ago, impulse said: So, let's see... Online business. Customers overseas. Sounds a lot like the businesses that so many digital nomads claim are perfectly legal. indeed worth investigating what the rules are. first of all, let me state that this looks like a boiler room operation, and if so Kudos to the police for closing them down. However, in the article there seems to be some confusion about the activities. if Brokers, were their customers overseas and if so, where the transfers processed through the Thai banking system? did they receive commission or other remuneration in Thailand ? If not brokers, i.e. position takers and traders, where was their company or SPV located, and where were the bank accounts, and where was the administration and accounting done ? Did they have a permanent establishment in Thailand? laptops are imho not a permanent establishment, and handwritten trading tickets are not documents, so are proof of what, unless they are followed up by binding contracts from the Thai locations to the customers. did they provide margin trading or other trading services to Thai customers ? If none of the above was in Thailand, then the activities, whether criminal or not, took place outside of Thailand, and in analogy with the Australian case, that does not concern Thailand, then what were they raided for? Having said that, as they apparently received an agreed fixed remuneration for conducting their activities in Thailand in Baht, they seem to have been in a working relationship with a "Boss ?" (LHS on slide) and it would be interesting whether there is a Thai bank account involved ( and who is the account owner ) what would be proof of a working relationship in Thailand. That leaves a few questions: a) is a contractor who gets paid abroad by a foreign entity on job completion, and does not have a permanent contract, "working" ? and what if he gets paid from abroad to a Thai bank account ? b) is a business owner of a foreign company, who does receive some compensation abroad, deemed to be "working"? and if paid on a Thai Bank account ? c) is a director of the supervisory board of a company in Thailand deemed to be "working" ? (by definition, a non-exec director is deemed not to be working, hence the non-executive title.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theequalizer Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 And the current administration of the Philippines recently said that the people should eventually begin to trust the Chinese. Why should they trust China? Communist China is the world's leading producer of Fentanyl and Methamphetamine hydrochloride which they sell to drug lords operating in other countries. We are talking about a Communist country that executed or starved to death 40+ million of their own people. Even this very day they have at least 1 million people detained in internment camps. They spend little money on research and development, because they hack into military and corporate computers to steal technology. China has set up hundreds of illegal online gaming centers in the Philippines that are operated by illegals and they pay no taxes. China has been land grabbing for centuries and they are continuing to do so in the South China Sea. Note to J Town's signature: Yes I am opposed to President Obama's and Vice President Biden's demanding that a desperate foreign nation get involved in the politics of another nation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiggo Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 Boss? lol...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cake Monster Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 Just because they are Chinese Criminals, there really is no need to make them all look like Panda Bears on the posters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackdd Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 19 hours ago, impulse said: So, let's see... Online business. Customers overseas. Sounds a lot like the businesses that so many digital nomads claim are perfectly legal. Sent to work in Thailand for a 20k THB salary, provided with accommodation and office space in Thailand. Not having a business registered abroad (because not allowed to), so effectively running a business in Thailand. I think "online" is the only thing they have in common with the usual digital nomads, everything else is different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impulse Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 4 minutes ago, jackdd said: 19 hours ago, impulse said: So, let's see... Online business. Customers overseas. Sounds a lot like the businesses that so many digital nomads claim are perfectly legal. Sent to work in Thailand for a 20k THB salary, provided with accommodation and office space in Thailand. Not having a business registered abroad (because not allowed to), so effectively running a business in Thailand. I think "online" is the only thing they have in common with the usual digital nomads, everything else is different. I'm not making a definitive statement about the legality or the circumstances. Just pointing out the vagaries of Thai rules and the risks people take when they play in the gray areas. I'm sure there are factors at play here that will never be mentioned in the press. My suspicion is that one of 2 things happened here. 1) The Chinese government detected their cross border activity and asked Thailand to put a stop to it. 2) They got sideways with someone of status in Thailand who dropped a dime on them. If I were to be making a point, it's that #2 can happen to anyone making money online from LOS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasThBKK Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 21 hours ago, impulse said: So, let's see... Online business. Customers overseas. Sounds a lot like the businesses that so many digital nomads claim are perfectly legal. https://www.samuiforsale.com/law-texts/thailand-currency-exchange-control-act.html No it isn't, you need a foreign currency exchange license. For pretty much every financial business you need a license, in all parts of the world. You can't just take funds from someone - finance is super regulated. Same for bitcoin exchanges etc here - they are all licensed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impulse Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 4 minutes ago, ThomasThBKK said: https://www.samuiforsale.com/law-texts/thailand-currency-exchange-control-act.html No it isn't, you need a foreign currency exchange license. For pretty much every financial business you need a license, in all parts of the world. You can't just take funds from someone - finance is super regulated. Same for bitcoin exchanges etc here - they are all licensed. Why would Thailand care, if all your business is overseas? Look at my post #28 for the long version... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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