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'Digital nomad' from China arrested for running online business


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https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/crime/five-chinese-awaiting-deportation-after-being-arrested-in-phuket-over-illegal-forex-trading

 

Five Chinese are now in custody after being arrested over the running of an illegal online foreign-exchange. They were running the business from a residential housing estate in Chalong, Phuket.

 

Phuket Immigration officers raided the rented property in the Baan Maneekram-Jomthong Thani estate in Chalong at the end of October. The five were arrested and taken to the Chalong police station on charges of working without a Work Permit. The announcements were made in Bangkok by senior police and the Thai Immigration Chief. The five Chinese nationals had entered Thailand on 60 day tourist visas.

 

Arrested were 24 year old Chinese female Liu Minglan and four Chinese men, 24 year old Fan Junjie, 34 year old Gao Jiancheng, 29 year old Bai Xiaoxi, 26 year old Li Qiang.

 

Police report that the team were trading Chinese yuan and US dollars through their online exchange. They were advertising their services through Chinese websites and chat applications. They explained to police that they weren’t licensed to conduct foreign currency exchange in China so came to Thailand to evade Chinese authorities.

 

It is likely the five will be deported to China after being processed by the Immigration department in Thailand.

Edited by EricTh
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23 minutes ago, Tayaout said:

Nice try adding "digital nomad" to your title. According to the article they were running an illegal forex exchange. The immigration police probably acted after being tipped by Chinese authorities. 

 

If you had looked carefully, they were arrested because they were working online illegally in Thailand without a work permit and not because Chinese authorities want them deported.

 

They weren't taking any jobs from any Thai people and were working online. The customers are also not Thai people or any people living in Thailand.

 

Isn't that what other digital nomads do?

 

If Chinese authorities want them deported, they would just be sent back to China and not charged in Thailand for working without a work permit.

Edited by EricTh
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18 minutes ago, EricTh said:

They explained to police that they weren’t licensed to conduct foreign currency exchange in China so came to Thailand to evade Chinese authorities.

So completely different to most digital nomads. Digital nomads usually have a business in a foreign country for which they do the work while being physically located in Thailand. These chinese did not (could not) register a business in China, so they were basically running a business in Thailand.

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They were however getting paid in Thailand and that's the issue.

 

Digital nomads get paid into their foreign accounts by foreign companies. If they want to send their salaries here to their bank accounts, that's fine.

 

Also, the Chinese government don't want unauthorised money changers and neither do Thailand. This is completely different from your regular DN's. IMHO. ????

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2 minutes ago, ChouDoufu said:

would that be considered money laundering?

 

Not only, you are breaking the exchange control act, to such business you would need a foreign exchange licenses by the Minister of Finance. Forex business is one of the least free markets and licenses are hard to get. They also break chinese laws, not only thai laws, and prolly US laws if they handle USD. 

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27 minutes ago, EricTh said:

 

If you had looked carefully, they were arrested because they were working online illegally in Thailand without a work permit and not because Chinese authorities want them deported.

 

They weren't taking any jobs from any Thai people and were working online. The customers are also not Thai people or any people living in Thailand.

 

Isn't that what other digital nomads do?

 

If Chinese authorities want them deported, they would just be sent back to China and not charged in Thailand for working without a work permit.

They were running an unlicensed (illegal) forex exchange. Do you expect authorities to close their eyes on this? The fastest way to get rid of them was probably to say they worked without a permit but work permit to run an illegal business doesn't exist anywhere. 

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14 minutes ago, Tayaout said:

They were running an unlicensed (illegal) forex exchange. Do you expect authorities to close their eyes on this? The fastest way to get rid of them was probably to say they worked without a permit but work permit to run an illegal business doesn't exist anywhere. 

  I guess that's way over the guy's head now....

 

          Once you've got 10 + million baht nobody is asking you any questions here.

 

   You just buy them all. That includes a work permit. 

 

  

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48 minutes ago, EricTh said:

 

If you had looked carefully, they were arrested because they were working online illegally in Thailand without a work permit and not because Chinese authorities want them deported.

 

They weren't taking any jobs from any Thai people and were working online. The customers are also not Thai people or any people living in Thailand.

 

Isn't that what other digital nomads do?

 

If Chinese authorities want them deported, they would just be sent back to China and not charged in Thailand for working without a work permit.

No they were arrested for doing a work that Thai people in general can do. A digital nomad that does work pointed to his own country and in his own language have nothing to worry about. 

You have changed the news into something that it was not about. Stop making up stories as you go.

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51 minutes ago, ThomasThBKK said:

You can't run an exchange in Thailand without a license from the SEC and really stringent financial regulations, total illegal business. Wouldn't be surprised if they ran an actual currency exchange that helps people to get money from china into thailand.

I wouldn't be surprised if that's an assumption only. 

 

   What about money laundering advice?

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8 minutes ago, Matzzon said:

No they were arrested for doing a work that Thai people in general can do. A digital nomad that does work pointed to his own country and in his own language have nothing to worry about. 

You have changed the news into something that it was not about. Stop making up stories as you go.

   "That does work pointed to his own country and in his own language"? ( Couldn't be female?)

 

Do you really know what digital nomads do?

 

     I have my tiny doubts. 

 

Please don't throw with stones when sitting in a glasshouse. 

Edited by Isaanbiker
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18 minutes ago, Matzzon said:

No they were arrested for doing a work that Thai people in general can do.

No they weren’t. They were arrested for working without permission.

 

Virtually every job done by a foreigner could be fine by a Thai. 

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