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Thai police arrest Chinese fugitive accused of running crypto and currency exchanges for a 133-account laundering network
Summary
Thai immigration police arrested a 37-year-old Chinese national wanted in China — identified by Thairath English as Wu Chaoshuai — at a luxury house in Bangkok’s Ramkhamhaeng area, according to the Bangkok Post, Thairath English, Thaiger and Cointelegraph.
Police said, citing Chinese authorities, that he handled cryptocurrency and foreign-currency exchanges for criminal networks across more than 133 accounts with over 500 million yuan (about 2 billion baht) in transactions, and arranged visas for members of transnational crime groups.
Outlets converted the yuan figure differently: Cointelegraph put it at about $75 million, while Thaiger put 2 billion baht at about US$62 million.
His permission to stay in Thailand had expired about three years and eight months earlier; he was charged with overstaying and is to be handed to Chinese authorities, the reports said.
Bangkok Post and Thaiger said the arrest happened on Friday, Oct. 16, while Thairath English’s account describes it under an Oct. 17 dateline.
Key facts
- Thairath English said Immigration Division 3 made the arrest and that the suspect entered Thailand on a tourist visa in December 2019, then overstayed.
- Thaiger reported China issued an arrest warrant for Wu over offences linked to a loan-shark gang, and said police allege he paid people to open bank accounts and passed the cards and account details to money-laundering groups.
- Bangkok Post said police traced the suspect using Interpol data and that he used forged accommodation documents and changed his vehicle’s number plates and colour to evade detection.
- Thaiger said he was charged under Section 81 of Thailand’s Immigration Act 1979 for overstaying and will be deported, with police coordinating with Chinese agencies to hand him over to face the warrant.
- Cointelegraph, citing a Khaosod English post on X, reported the network handled more than 500 million yuan ($75 million) in transactions across more than 133 accounts.
- Thaiger said Immigration Bureau commander Nopasilp Poonsawat ordered all units to step up pursuit of transnational criminals, particularly mule-account and money-laundering networks.