Thai police have arrested a 37-year-old Chinese man suspected of playing a key role in an international crime network. The suspect is wanted by Chinese authorities for alleged involvement in money laundering and handling over 500 million yuan ($75 million) in transactions. Investigators claim he managed cryptocurrency and foreign-currency exchanges for criminal groups across more than 133 accounts. He is also accused of arranging visas for members of international crime groups linked to other money-laundering cases.
The suspect attempted to evade arrest by using forged documents and changing vehicle registration plates. Police found him in a luxury house in Bangkok, where his Thai visa had expired more than three years ago. He will now face legal proceedings before being returned to China to face the outstanding warrant.
This arrest comes amid heightened global efforts to combat crypto-related crimes. In June, crypto exchange Coinbase froze more than $3 million in cryptocurrency tied to a global operation targeting cyber-enabled crypto scam networks in Southeast Asia. The operation was part of Disruption Week, led by the US Department of Justice’s Scam Center Strike Force, which involved government entities and private industries to tackle crypto fraud targeting Americans.
The operation also involved Meta, Microsoft, and Starlink, which worked together to take down servers and other hosting infrastructure linked to scam networks. This effort disrupted criminal activity across more than 1.4 million social media and email accounts, leading to several arrests by the Royal Thai Police Anti-Cyber Scam Center.