Police have arrested a 30-year-old Chinese man wanted by authorities in China for alleged fraud and money laundering, and he will be extradited to his homeland.
The Central Investigation Bureau said police from the Crime Suppression Division and the Immigration Bureau apprehended ‘Mr Zhang’ at a condominium in this tourist city on Friday.
Chinese authorities suspect him of being a key scammer who hired others to withdraw and transfer money raised through fraud.
According to the CIB, Mr Zhang stayed in Thailand from June 2023 to February 2024 and used it as a base while he masterminded the transfers, withdrawals and laundering of scam-related money. He is alleged to have ripped his victims off to the tune of 1.8 million yuan, about 8.8 million baht.
When the suspect learned about Chinese authorities’ attempts to find him in Thailand he had fled to Japan. He returned to Thailand in March and hid out in Pattaya until his arrest.
According to Thai police, he admitted to using Thailand as his money-laundering base. He was charged with overstaying his visa and will be extradited to China, police said.