Thai immigration police have raided a visa agency in Bangkok accused of forging bank statements and official stamps for European visa applications. Investigators believe more than 400 clients were involved.
Immigration Division 3 announced the results on August 17. The case began with a tip-off from the embassy of a European country. Staff there had noticed that several Thai visa applicants submitted suspicious supporting documents, particularly bank statements that appeared to be forged.
Officers obtained a warrant from the Min Buri Criminal Court and searched the visa consultancy’s office in the Sai Mai district of Bangkok on August 12.
They seized forged rubber stamps of banks and government agencies. They also took more than 20 forged financial documents and four desktop computers. Police believe the office produced fake documents for a large number of Thai clients.
Investigators compared the documents submitted to the embassy with the banks’ records and identified the same irregularities in five cases. The account names did not match the actual account holders, while transaction details had been altered.
In all five cases, the applicants’ trips were funded using the same foreign credit card number.
The search also turned up rubber stamps from several commercial banks and dozens more forged documents, including salary certificates and account statements. Officers seized everything as evidence, and will use it to trace others involved.
Investigators said the agency charged around 40,000 baht per client. An initial investigation found more than 400 clients, bringing the total value of the alleged scheme to over 16 million baht.
According to police, the conduct may amount to jointly forging and using forged documents, under sections 264, 265 and 268 of the Criminal Code. It may also amount to forging official seals, under sections 251 and 252. The exact charges will depend on the examination of the seized evidence.
Submitting forged documents, including bank statements or salary letters, can result in visa refusal and lengthy or permanent bans. Applicants remain responsible for documents submitted in their name, even when prepared by an agent.
Elsewhere, more than 100 foreigners in Phuket sought help from a non-profit organisation and a class action lawyer after they were swindled out of thousands of baht by visa agents.
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