Two people were arrested selling "premium grade" mule accounts for people wanting to hide or launder money in a police sting operation at a mall in Muang Thong Thani on Sunday night.
The sting played out about 9.30pm and was led by Pol Lt Gen Nattasak Chaowanasai, chief of the Crime Suppression Division, assisted by Pol Maj Gen Theerachart Theerachartthamrong, commander of the Special Operations Division and officers from the Central Investigation Bureau.
Police said the accounts were offered on the black market as "premium-grade" corporate mule accounts that could be used for large transactions and appear more legitimate than personal accounts.
Police arranged a sting, with an undercover officer posing as a buyer. Once the transaction was completed, police moved in and arrested a 30-year-old woman, Bunyanuch, and a 40-year-old man, Worawut. (continues below)
The arresting officers seized a large postal envelope containing a company bank passbook, business registration documents and two mobile phones with preinstalled banking apps.
During questioning, Mr Worawut said he was not the account owner and was being paid 10,000 baht to deliver the envelope. Investigators said the account had been supplied through a chain of intermediaries linked to a larger mule-account network.
Police said mule accounts were commonly used to receive money from scam victims and launder the proceeds of illegal activities, making financial transactions more difficult to trace.
The suspects were charged with jointly procuring, advertising or facilitating the sale, rental or lending of bank accounts and electronic payment accounts in violation of cybercrime suppression laws. They were handed over to Pak Kret police for legal action.
The pair were being held in custody. The police investigation was continuing.
