Copies of an arrest warrant, carrying the police image of Kok An, a Cambodian fugitive wanted by Thai police for allegedly being the mastermind behind scam operations in the Cambodian town of Poipet, have been posted at numerous locations along the Thai-Cambodian border in Aranyaprathet district of Sa Kaeo province.
A Thai criminal court issued a warrant on July 7th for the arrest of Kok An, based on an application by the Cybercrime Investigation Bureau (CIB), after he had been charged with involvement in a transnational criminal organisation and money laundering.
Kok An, a Cambodian senator who is reported to be close to Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen, owns the 25-storey Crown Casino Resort and two other high rises in Poipet. They are reputed to be the centres of scam operations in Poipet.
Photo: the arrest warrant
On July 8, CIB officers raided 19 locations in Bangkok, Chon Buri and Samut Prakan provinces, which were suspected of being be involved in Kok An’s scam network.
CIB Commissioner Pol Lt Gen Trairong Phiwpan said that they have, so far, seized assets worth about 1.1 billion baht, including 27 million baht in cash, from Kok An’s illegal business empire.
He claimed that Kok An’s illegal operations include hybrid scams, call centres and money laundering through “mule” bank accounts and crypto currencies, adding that many Thais have been bribed or duped into opening “mule” accounts for the gang.
File photo: From L; Cambodia's Senate President Hun Sen and Kok An
In his Facebook post today, exiled Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy claimed that more than 120,000 people, including Cambodians, Thais, Vietnamese, Indians, Filipinos and other nationalities have been forced to work in call centres and other scam activities at 53 high-security buildings in Cambodia, citing Amnesty International reports.
He alleges that the gangs have been operating with impunity in Cambodia, because they are protected by the Hun family, which benefits from their operations.
He also claims that the escalation of border tensions between Thailand and Cambodia were partially caused by Thailand’s crackdown on call centres linked to the network in Cambodia.
