BANGKOK — Thai police have arrested a Chinese national accused of laundering money through illegal cryptocurrency exchanges operating in Bangkok’s Huai Khwang district, authorities said Sunday.
Police identified the suspect as Zhen Zhang, wanted under a Criminal Court warrant issued on October 31. Officers took him into custody around 4:10 p.m. Saturday in the parking lot of a shopping mall on Rama IX Road.
According to Pol. Lt. Gen. Siam Boonsom, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, investigators from Metropolitan Division 2 and Sutthisan Police Station discovered that Zhang had entered Thailand on a student visa obtained in Singapore and was living on Nimmanhaemin Soi 9 in Chiang Mai.
Zhang allegedly admitted to exchanging cryptocurrencies for Thai clients but claimed he later learned the funds were tied to a call center scam network. He said a compatriot named Li Yong managed large sums of digital currency and coordinated transactions via Telegram.
When Thai clients wanted to trade crypto, Li Yong reportedly connected them to Zhang, who handled transactions either in cash or by bank transfer, forwarding the money to Li in exchange for crypto tokens.
A search of Zhang’s phone revealed money transfer records, including a 46,000-baht payment to Li Yong, and digital wallet data linked to illegal exchange operations.
Police also seized a Toyota Alphard van registered under mismatched ownership records, suspecting it was purchased through illicit funds.
Zhang has been turned over to Sutthisan police investigators to face charges of money laundering conspiracy, operating an unlicensed digital asset business, and working in Thailand without a permit.
