Chinese fugitive ‘oversaw mule accounts worth B2.5 billion’

Thai police have arrested a Chinese fugitive in Bangkok for allegedly managing mule accounts that circulated over 500 million yuan and arranging visas for members of transnational criminal gangs.

The 37-year-old suspect, identified only as Mr Wu, was a member of a loan-sharking gang responsible for recruiting people to open bank accounts to launder money, officials said on Saturday.

More than 500 million yuan, or about 2.5 billion baht, had circulated through 133 accounts involved, said Pol Lt Gen Noppasin Poolsawat, the Immigration Bureau commissioner.

Mr Wu was also accused of arranging visas for members of criminal groups facing other money-laundering charges, said Pol Lt Gen Noppasin.

Chinese authorities had identified Mr Wu as a gang member and issued an arrest warrant before he fled to Thailand, where he evaded arrest for about three years.

Pol Lt Gen Noppasin said the arrest had been challenging because the suspect used forged documents and changed his vehicle’s colour and licence plates to evade detection.

He was arrested at a house in the Ramkhamhaeng area of Saphan Sung district.

His Thai visa had expired three years and eight months earlier. He was charged with overstaying his visa and would be extradited to China, Pol Lt Gen Noppasin said.