CSD preps for laundering crackdown
Division to track down 199 suspects
The Crime Suppression Division (CSD) will this week intensify its follow-up of nearly 200 suspects in major money laundering cases in a move speculated to precede large-scale raids.
The CSD will spend the next seven days looking deeper into warrants approved by the court for the arrest of the 199 suspects. This will pave the way for crackdowns of the suspects in the following weeks, the CSD said.
The division said it expected the suspects will be captured by the end of this month.
It will be the biggest sting operation against money laundering suspects in many years, said CSD chief Suthin Sappuang who has mobilised police and commandos across the CSD’s six subdivisions to carry out the job.
Although the responsibility of suppressing money launderers rests with the Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo), police can act against the suspects, many of whom are wanted on other criminal cases. Police must also step in as the Amlo is reported to be short of staff.
Deputy CSD chief Srituchakhhet Kruwatthanseth said it was “natural” for both police and the Amlo to team up and conduct joint operations because, in dealing with money laundering cases, laws governing the two agencies must be strictly enforced.
He said the suspects violated the Amlo law by concealing cash generated from illegally-obtained assets. In the laundering process, other criminal offences have also been committed.
The CSD said the offences involved the transnational human and drug trade as well as sophisticated fraud scams.
Pol Col Srituchakhhet has been assigned by Pol Maj Gen Suthin to work with Amlo to hunt for the suspects.
In an interview with the Bangkok Post, the deputy CSD chief elaborated on the key methods designed to nab the suspects.
Investigators are first required to gather clues about the suspects who are believed to be members of large and complex criminal networks, Pol Col Srituchakhhet said. In parallel to the investigation, the officers must work closely with Amlo to trace the suspects’ money trails by examining both the hidden and open financial transaction records.
The second task is to conduct coordinated crackdowns and “arrest the suspects wherever they are in the country,” he said, adding success of the operations will largely depend on the quality and clarity of information obtained in the initial investigation stage.
The CSD denied giving details of wanted suspects saying it wanted to keep their operations a secret.
Pol Col Somphong Suwanwong, chief of the CSD’s sub-division 6, is setting up a team of investigators to hunt the suspects in the far South, which is under his supervision.
Some areas in the far South are used as transit points by human trafficking gangs to export people to neighbouring countries. This week, Pol Col Somphong said he expected his agency will soon have enough information about suspects to start the manhunt.