The Thai crackdown on World Cup betting continued this week with Anti-Money Laundering officials reporting that the unit has frozen 77 bank accounts totalling more than 25.5 million baht linked to illegal online football gambling.
Amlo deputy secretary-general Romsit Weeriyasan told the Bangkok Post that the agency’s transaction committee Wednesday ordered the freeze on 77 bank accounts from 64 suspects involved in offering online football gambling services, noting that this was merely the first batch of frozen assets as a police investigation widened.
The AML authorities will work with the Bank of Thailand to keep track of online groups, and all commercial banks will be asked to keep an eye out for suspicious financial transactions, Romsit said.
On Wednesday police reported that World Cup wagering arrests are currently at 6,500 suspects, 250 of them illegal bookies. Raiding parties have so far seized around US$ 850,000 in cash.