DSI, AMLO, CIFS Join Forces in "Operation Black Horse Down" Crackdown on Mule Accounts

DSI, AMLO, CIFS Join Forces in "Operation Black Horse Down" Crackdown on Mule Accounts

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Today (Tuesday, October 8, 2024) Police Major Yutthana Praedam, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) and Acting DSI Director-General, and Police Captain Piya Rakaskul, Deputy DSI Director-General, assigned Police Captain Thinavudth Silapat, Director of the Foreign Affairs and Transnational Crime Bureau, to lead DSI officers in a joint operation with officers from the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) and the Central Institute of Forensic Science to arrest 5 suspects: Igidi (surname withheld), a Nigerian national; On-Anong (surname withheld), a Thai national; Wirot (surname withheld); Araya (surname withheld), a Thai national; Kannika (surname withheld), a Thai national, at a condominium on Srinakarin Road, Bangkok. The charges are jointly committing fraud by impersonating another person, and by dishonest or fraudulent means; jointly entering distorted or falsified computer data, whether in whole or in part, or false computer data, into a computer system, against any person; and jointly laundering money and conspiring to launder money. All suspects are part of a large network headed by Igidi and On-Anong, who are husband and wife. They act as agents, procuring mule accounts from across the country to sell to various criminal organizations, including call center gangs, romance scams, and money laundering operations, drug traffickers in foreign countries such as Cambodia, Hong Kong, South Korea, and South Africa. They are also linked to a West African transnational criminal organization operating in Southeast Asia.

This case started with the Foreign Affairs and Transnational Crime Bureau's investigation (Special Case No. 95/2566) into multiple victims being defrauded by a romance scam gang that tricked them into falling in love and then invited them to invest, resulting in losses of more than 50 million baht. The investigation revealed that the accounts receiving money from the victims were mule accounts provided by Igidi and On-Anong, who are major agents in procuring mule accounts and phone SIM cards. They operate in Bangkok and instruct their network in various provinces, both in Bangkok and other provinces, to recruit people to open mule accounts and obtain SIM cards. These are then sent back to Igidi and On-Anong for distribution to Nigerian criminal organizations and other networks to defraud victims. Each agent supplies an average of over 100 mule accounts per month to Igidi and On-Anong. The suspects are linked to over 1,000 mule accounts with a turnover of over 1,200 million baht. Currently, victims defrauded by their gang have suffered losses of over 50 million baht, and financial tracing suggests that there are many more victims of this group.

Subsequently, the special case investigation team (Case No. 95/2566) gathered evidence and sought arrest warrants from the Criminal Court for 8 individuals in Igidi's and On-Anong 's network. 2 of them have already been in custody for other cases and are under a hold order. Today (Tuesday, October 8, 2024), the Criminal Court approved search warrants for 5 locations to gather evidence and arrest the remaining 6 suspects under the arrest warrants for Igidi's and On-Anong's network. 5 suspects were arrested, and 1 is still at large and will be pursued for prosecution.

The search found 40 bank books used as mule accounts and 2 deposit accounts belonging to On-Anong, with a turnover of over ten million baht in the past period; 23 mobile phones; 31 SIM cards; 20 bank ATM cards; 5 tablets; numerous bank statements; clothes matching the images from ATM CCTV footage during cash withdrawals; 14 brown paper parcels containing 14 SIM cards; 5 mailboxes; and a long list of mule accounts. In addition to the arrested suspects, there are many other accomplices, both Thai and foreign nationals. The DSI will continue to investigate and prosecute the accomplices and collaborate with AMLO to conduct financial tracing and seize related assets of this network.

The Department of Special Investigation cautions the public that opening mule accounts for criminals may lead to criminal charges under the Emergency Decree on Measures for the Prevention and Suppression of Technological Crimes, B.E. 2566 (2023), which carries a penalty of up to 3 years imprisonment, a fine of not more than 300,000 baht, or both. This is an important issue reported in various media every day, so claiming ignorance is not possible. If the public wishes to file a complaint or report information about criminal offenses, they can contact the DSI through the website www.dsi.go.th, under the banner "Complaints, Grievances and Tips," so that the special case inquiry officials can gather evidence and take actions according to the law.