UPDATE: More than 50 foreign and Thai victims hold rally, parade, and protest over the past holiday weekend regarding alleged bank staffer fraud case in Pattaya

[The Pattaya News]

The Pattaya News
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Pattaya – More than 50 foreign and Thai victims gathered in Pattaya on Christmas Eve this past weekend (December 24th) regarding a case of a Pattaya area bank branch assistant manager causing them to lose significant amounts of money due to alleged fraud and scams. The group peacefully walked along the Pattaya Beach Road from […]

UPDATE: More than 50 foreign and Thai victims hold rally, parade, and protest over the past holiday weekend regarding alleged bank staffer fraud case in Pattaya
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[dabhand]

Limited sympathy for these folk. Placing their savings into an 'investment' scheme that offered monthly interest of 3.5% would have had most of us heading for the exit at a rate of knots. That clearly indicated it was deep in scam territory. 

Yes, the bank connection was a cunning ploy but, really, red flags were all over this from the get go. 

 

[madmike]

I'm not sure what they want Kasikorn bank to do.  Was it a bank endorsed investment or a one off by the guy in jail?  Does the guy in jail still have the money he can return or is it gone?  Do they want the cops to do what exactly?

I get it.  They got scammed.  But it seems the scammer is in jail already and I assume with a long sentence ahead of him.  If the money is already gone then that is it done and dusted.   Maybe someone smarter than me can explain what the protestors are asking to happen that makes sense.

 

[whitespider - RIP]

They remind me of the woman who filed a complaint, to the police, against a senior police officer. Her complaint was that she had paid him a large bribe to get her daughter promoted in the police force and he had failed to deliver 🤣🤣

[Fired Up Paul]

35 minutes ago, whitespider said:

Her complaint was that she had paid him a large bribe to get her daughter promoted in the police force and he had failed to deliver 🤣🤣

That's an outrage!!

No wonder she complained 555

[utopia]

The guy in question was an assistant manager at the bank and the "deposits" were done inside the branch.  I would think Kasikorn holds some culpability here.  Not sure how the branch manager still has her job given all that went on.  

[Fire Bar Matt]

1 hour ago, madmike said:

I'm not sure what they want Kasikorn bank to do.  Was it a bank endorsed investment or a one off by the guy in jail?  Does the guy in jail still have the money he can return or is it gone?  Do they want the cops to do what exactly?

I get it.  They got scammed.  But it seems the scammer is in jail already and I assume with a long sentence ahead of him.  If the money is already gone then that is it done and dusted.   Maybe someone smarter than me can explain what the protestors are asking to happen that makes sense.

 

From the article: “The basic situation, according to Mr. Sirichai, is that the bank has allegedly stated they will investigate the situation, but have not kept regular contact with the victims or provided updates and this has been the case for almost a year.”

To me that means the bank have done very little to inform them what’s going on, and they want the police to help getting some answers. You pose a few questions that probably haven’t been answered and after a year should be.

From the linked article within: “ The issue was discovered when some alleged victims of the fraud went to different bank branches and had problems with their account books, with bank staff stating that various slips or deposits were forged, outdated or incorrect and did not match their account balances.”

If this is correct and true then it appears the scam had the appearance of the banks endorsement, even though it didn’t. You would think there’s a duty of care by the bank to know what it’s employees are doing and be liable for their actions. Large financial institutions should have checks and balances in place and strict compliance regimes. If they fail to have proper oversight of what their employees are doing inside their branches then they’re likely liable. Thai banking laws and regulations may not view it that way though.

One protest sign in the article had “300 million baht taken” on it, that’s not exactly going to break the bank if they refund it to their customers, I’m guessing other banks refund that amount and more on a yearly basis to customers who have had cards skimmed or stolen, it’s good practice to protect your customers.

 

[dabhand]

Those wishing to see some in depth reporting on this case may be interested in this, rather long, article that was published a month or so after the guy was arrested, but seemingly before he was tried and convicted.

https://truecrimethailand.substack.com/p/swindling-frog-pattaya

Rather clear that this was carried out in clear sight and the bank should find it difficult to escape some liability for the actions of the assistant manager. But, hey ho, this is Thailand.

Of some interest was the brief mention of a foreigner and his wife (Victims 1+2). Seemingly victims of the 'fraud' but with rather interesting connections to the guy that they would possibly wish to keep quiet about.

 

On a separate note, the 'truecrimethailand'' blog also had an interesting report on the apparent death of Toby Nelhams. He was heavily linked to the Pattaya hit on Tony Kenway back in 2017 (shot in his Porsche).  Well, there was a UK coroner's court listing (April 2021) for someone of that same name / age suggesting he possibly met an untimely ending. Maybe connected with the TK hit or some other crime from his past.

https://truecrimethailand.substack.com/p/fallen-not-forgotten