Police have arrested a Malaysian man in Thailand in conjunction with an alleged RM 1.5billion money laundering operation through a black market online gambling site called Hydra888.
Suspect Detained By Thai Immigration Authorities On Gambling Money Laundering Charges
The 26-year Malaysian man was collared by the Thai immigration authorities at the Don Mueang International Airport early on Wednesday (9th July) morning, with an arrest warrant issued by the Nonthaburi Provincial Court on December 16th 2024.
He’s since been named at Steven Choon Seng Lok, but is expected to be facing several charges around operating an unlicensed online gambling company.
Plus is also being accused of operating an unauthorized online gambling service, conspiring with others to commit money laundering, and engaging in money laundering
The investigation discovered that the detained Malaysian man owned a sports business that allegedly was the avenue used to filter money from the online gambling site.
This company had acted as a front in order to try and smoke-screen the laundered money coming in from the black market gambling platform Hydra888.
With the annual transactions reported to have been more than 11.52 billion baht.
In recent years, there have been more black market gambling platforms emerging, which has put pressure on regulators around the world and the best sports betting sites to tighten up checks.
Choon Seng Lok Handed Over To Thai Authorities For Further Questioning
Since being detained, Choon Seng Lok has now been turned over to the Technology Crime Suppression Division 2 (TCSD 2) and Thailand Cyber Investigation Bureau (CCIB) as investigations continue into the financial background of Hyrda888 – the gambling site in question.
The accused had been travelling from Malaysia, with Thailand authorities having received intelligence about his arrival in the country.
With the suspect detained as soon as he left flight AK890 and entered the arrivals gate in Bangkok at the Don Mueang Airport – having flown in from Kuala Lumpar.
Under Thai law any unauthorized financial and gambling crimes come with serious punishments, which is often more severe when the cross-border movement of money is involved.
Superintendent of Don Mueang Immigration Checkpoint, Pol. Col. Adisak Panya Said
“The suspect was wanted under a warrant issued by the Nonthaburi Provincial Court on charges related to an online gambling network and money laundering,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The suspect will be investigated for conspiring to operate online gambling without permission, conspiring with two or more individuals to commit the offence of money laundering, and committing money laundering as a result of such conspiracy and joint action,”
Andy is an experienced betting and gambling journalist with over 20 years industry experience. He brings an excellent knowledge of the world of sports betting and industry gambling news.
