Many of Myanmar’s migrant workers in Thailand have been forced to open bank accounts that are then used by others to launder money from illegal online gambling and other illicit sources.

Some of the migrants from Myanmar, who only earn a few thousand baht per month on construction sites or in factories, have discovered deposits and withdrawals worth millions of baht in their bank accounts. The Thai bank accounts of many of these workers from Myanmar have been used for money laundering and online gambling.

Almost all forms of gambling are illegal in Thailand, but many bet online, particularly on English and European football games. Millions of baht are illegally gambled every week in Thailand on football as well as with online casinos.

Although it is not unusual to have a bank account in an age when many everyday transactions are done online, a large number of workers from Myanmar in Thailand could face years in jail because of the way their accounts have been used by others.

In many cases, the Thai bank accounts that some employers or agents have forced Myanmar workers to open using their personal data are being kept from the workers and the accounts are used by employers and agents. The employers or agents commit crimes such as money laundering and online gambling, using their employees’ accounts to move money about.

However, when Thai authorities conduct interrogations or make arrests, it is the migrant workers from Myanmar whose names are on the bank accounts – and they are the ones who are arrested or imprisoned. It is only when these migrant workers are arrested and interrogated by Thai authorities that the workers realize millions of baht have been coming in and out of their accounts.

“I’ve never deposited or withdrawn a single baht. We’ve never seen our ATM bank cards because they (the employers or agents) have taken the books and ATM cards with them,” said one migrant worker. “But I found many millions of baht had been coming in and going out of my bank account. It was a huge shock.”

Ko Maung (not his real name) recounted his experiences, starting when his employer kept his bank book and ATM card and deposited and withdrew millions of baht. Ko Maung was working at a construction site in Thailand’s Rayong district, and had not opened the bank accounts of his own free will.

Many other Myanmar migrant workers have had similar experiences. Some whose bank accounts were used by others have been imprisoned or are facing trials. These abuses are aimed at Myanmar workers who come to Thailand officially under the MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) between the two governments.

Forced to open accounts

Many people from Myanmar have fled to other countries, including Thailand, to find work because of the internal conflicts, job scarcity and economic difficulties at home since the military coup in Myanmar. In Thailand, there are many illegal Myanmar workers as well as those who came under the MoU.

At least two million people from Myanmar are estimated to be working in Thailand, and the numbers have risen sharply since the coup. Some estimates put the number far higher.

Ko Maung, who had supported his family as a delivery man in Myanmar, moved to Thailand officially because he could no longer survive in Myanmar after the coup.

The Sit-Thwe-Nyi Agency sent 37 Myanmar workers, including Ko Maung, to Thailand in March this year on two-year contracts under the MoU system. Although he came to Thailand legally, he had to work at a construction-site, not at the workplace mentioned in the contract.

While working at the construction site, his employer and the foreman took the workers to supermarkets in Samut Prakan near Bangkok and forced them to open two bank accounts each. At first, the workers refused to open the bank accounts.

However, their employer threatened to sack them if they did not open the accounts, so a group of 38 Myanmar workers, including Ko Maung, opened accounts at the Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) and Kasikornbank (K Bank), using their personal data, Ko Maung said.

“Our boss threatened us that he would send us back if we would not open the bank accounts. He would drop us on the road. He told us that and pushed us to open the accounts,” Ko Maung recalled.

The bank accounts were opened using a phone number given by the employer, and the account books and ATM cards were kept by the employer.

“Bank cards were opened with their (the employer’s and agent’s) phone numbers. They used data from our passports and work permits (to open the accounts). Then they took all the bank passbooks and bank cards,” Ko Maung explained.

Without even letting Ko Maung know the number of his bank account, his boss seized the bank book, ATM card, Mobile Banking and phone sim cards as soon as the accounts were opened.

A growing number of victims

New workers who came to Thailand officially and legally under the MoU, like Ko Maung, were now being targeted, said U Khaing Gyi, a director at the AAC Partnership Group that helps Myanmar workers.

“Official MoU workers from Myanmar are mostly facing this problem. Newcomers to Thailand are being targeted. They don’t use people who have been living in Thailand very long. We’ve seen rare cases of this,” he said.

Some Myanmar and Thai agencies have persuaded newly-arrived Myanmar MoU workers to open bank accounts, said U Khaing Gyi.

“The agents buy sim cards illegally. They do everything online. They seize the sim cards after opening bank accounts. They also seize the bank passbooks. They seize everything and give the workers only 100 or 200 baht. They say everything would be sent to the boss at the office,” he said.

And it’s not only MoU workers, but those who hold work permits (pink cards) and identification certificates called CI, who are also in the firing line. Only when you have both a pink card and an CI are you able to live, work and travel in Thailand.

Myanmar workers who hold pink cards and a CI have also been targeted and their bank accounts manipulated for a small amount of money, according to the WAG group that helps Myanmar workers in Thailand.

Workers facing imprisonment

Some abuses of Myanmar workers’ bank accounts in online money fraud and money laundering have already been exposed in Thailand. However, when bank accounts through which cash transfers had been made were investigated, it is the Myanmar workers who have been arrested because the bank accounts are in their names.

Four workers from Myanmar were arrested and charged after their bank accounts were found to be involved in money laundering and online gambling, and the AAC Partnership Group has been helping to solve the problem, according to the group.

Because the workers could not check their bank accounts – their bosses had kept them – they were not aware that illegal money had been coming in and out of their accounts. They were arrested by Thai authorities, according to U Khaing Gyi, the director of the AAC Partnership Group.

“Workers have no way to check the money because they don’t know the bank account numbers. You can check the transactions only after you make a complaint to the authorities and know the bank account numbers. With money laundering now, it takes a lot of time to solve the problem with laws,” he said.

In May, a Myanmar worker who came to Thailand under the MoU system was jailed for withdrawing two million baht from the bank after gambling online. The money was withdrawn without his knowledge.

“He was jailed for 10 years. When we asked the embassy to give a guarantee for him, the embassy did not. We could proceed only when the embassy issues the guarantee letter. When the embassy did not give it, he was jailed. The agency (that sends workers) said they could not help because a Myanmar citizen was involved in gambling,” said Ko Mon Taing from WAG, which was providing help in the case.

The Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok did not respond to a phone inquiry regarding the case.

WAG has so far provided help in solving three cases of bank account abuses this year, and more than 20 workers were involved in one case.

Due to the many abuses of bank accounts involving online gambling, the Thai government checked all bank accounts in May.

In a bid to prevent bank account scams, 106 million mobile banking accounts linked to mobile numbers were examined starting May to see if the names matched the accounts, and the checks were due to be finished in 120 days. The Thai government is now trying to examine bank accounts that number almost double the population of 60 million people.

Ko Maung’s group of 38 workers had to open as many as 76 bank accounts for their employer, with two accounts for each worker. His group became worried when Myanmar workers with bank accounts bearing their names were arrested for reportedly committing crimes.

In early June, the Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok issued a statement, warning Myanmar workers to be careful as Thai authorities had arrested a number of workers for what they said was money laundering and illegal online banking.
After seeing the embassy warning, Myanmar workers including Ko Maung, fearing they would be accused and arrested, asked Myanmar worker organizations for help.

“We’ve heard that a guy (a Myanmar worker) from another group had been jailed because his employer had borrowed money using the bank card with his name. So, we asked WAG to help,” said Ko Maung.

Millions of baht in and out

Some of the Thai bank accounts of Myanmar workers, who earn only about 10,000 baht a month, have millions of baht coming in and then going out in a short time. The workers are not aware of the large amounts of money going through their accounts.

For months, Ko Maung and his co-workers were not aware how the bank accounts in their names were being used after being opened and seized by their employer.

After hearing news about the many arrests of Myanmar workers, they became alarmed and filed a complaint at a police station with the help of WAG, and only then were able to check their bank accounts. Only then did they know that millions of baht had been flowing in and out of their accounts.

In May, Ko Maung and his group filed a complaint at the Rayong Police Station and asked that their bank accounts be closed. Although their employer promised to close the accounts, he closed only the accounts at Siam Commercial Bank.

“Myanmar workers had to sign to withdraw money from the bank. Then the employer collected all the money. Some accounts had hundreds of thousands of baht,” Ko Maung said.

However, their employer did not close Ko Maung and the other workers’ Kasikornbank accounts, which contained millions of baht. It could be assumed that the employer was using those accounts for online gambling, said Ko Mon Taing from WAG.

“It’s obvious that online gambling is being done using these bank accounts. Money comes in and goes out of the workers’ accounts in a few minutes. Lots of money goes in and out,” he said.

An investigation of the accounts showed that up to 120 million baht went in and out of one worker’s account, said Ko Mon Taing.

More than 100 Myanmar workers, who had their bank accounts opened and passbooks seized, have asked the AAC Partnership Group for help. The AAC has been helping them so their accounts would not get them into trouble. However, the workers only asked for help after one of the group they opened the accounts with was arrested.

“Those workers only gave their bank accounts because they were told their accounts would be given back to them in their factories. But they became scared when their friend was arrested, and asked for help. Those who had bank accounts together with them were also arrested. So they knew about this only when they went to the banks to have their accounts closed,” said AAC Partnership Group Director U Khaing Gyi.

When the accounts were closed, it was found that an account held an average of 1.5 million baht and the total amount in all workers’ accounts reached up to more than 40 million baht, he said.

Living in fear of arrest

It is still difficult to close bank accounts, even when it is known they are being used illegally. Although Ko Maung’s group made efforts by going to the bank’s office to close the Kasikornbank accounts that held millions of baht, they were just given a date, and the accounts have not been closed.

“Everyone became worried after these things happened. We now have difficulties in doing our daily chores while we’re trying to close down the bank accounts. We can’t let the bank cards remain active,” said Ko Maung.

According to Thai law, a bank account owner has the right to withdraw money from the account. Myanmar people, whose bank accounts have been held by their employers, complained to police that they lost their bank passbooks, and applied to the bank for a new passbook so they could withdraw money. However, the bank did not permit the withdrawals.

After the bank rejected requests to withdraw the money – saying the reason the money came into the accounts could not be certified – they closed the accounts of the Myanmar workers so other people could not withdraw the money, according to the AAC Partnership Group.

“We feared that other people would withdraw the money. If the money was withdrawn and a complaint made to the police, claiming the money was illegal, the worker would land in the lockup automatically,” said U Khaing Gyi.

Although the embassy announced that people should contact them if their bank accounts were being used for illegal purposes, it did not give clear solutions or help when contacted, said Ko Maung. Although they faced pressure from their employer and commuting costs, they would try to close the other bank accounts, he said.

“We will deal with the problem correctly. We haven’t done anything wrong. If we have to solve it by using the law, we will solve it according to the law,” Ko Maung said.