On 22 March 2023, Mr. Kamonsit Wongbutnoi, Assistant Secretary-General, assigned by the Secretary-General of the Anti-Money Laundering Board, and AMLO officials, together with officials of Royal Thai Police, the United States Secret Service (USSS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), held a press conference on the joint operation for search, arrest and seizure and freezing of assets of the American offenders of fraud in the Shell Game Operation at Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau Building, Pakkred District, Nonthaburi Province.

Mr. Theppasu Bavornchotidara, the Secretary-General, expressed that US government requested Thailand to proceed with the group of persons who committed fraud and money laundering offenses under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty between the United States of America and The Kingdom of Thailand. The offense was committed in the US from 2021 to 2022 by contacting victims via phones or emails, imitating someone else and luring victims, mostly elderlies, to transfer funds or to gain access to their computers and transfer funds from the victims’ accounts to bank accounts in Thailand. Total victims were over 300, total damages were 3,000 million baht. AMLO with relevant agencies, worked closely with USSS an FBI to investigate financial trails and found transfers from the American victims to accounts in Thailand and the work was distributed among money laundering network, some were responsible for acquiring bank accounts for receiving transfers, some were responsible for withdrawing cash or further transfers through accounts, both of individuals and businesses, to the final accounts belonging to an Indian mastermind. The assets that were proved to be connected with the commission of the offense will be returned to the victims.