DSI, Thai bank join forces against illegal acts

BANGKOK, January 3 (TNA) - The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) will soon launch a joint program with Bangkok-based Thanachart Bank under which useful knowledge against illegal acts will be disseminated to the public for the sake of their financial security. Somjate Moosirilert, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and President of Thanachart Bank, told journalists on Wednesday that his bank and DSI will sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the agreed cooperation shortly. Under the MOU, Somjate said, DSI and his bank will work together to probe and detect evidence of illegal tricks and financial paths of scamp gangs who lure their victims through banking services. Somjate revealed that the cooperation will also cover a legal request to look into bank statements of suspected individuals or gangs to probe whether there is any money laundering process. Besides, workshops or training programs will be jointly organized for personnel of Thanachart Bank to provide them with knowledge and useful information against illegal acts in order to protect the bank's clients from scampers or fraudulent gangs. The agreed move followed a recent case in which a 74-year-old female bank client, who is a food vender, was tricked by a fraudulent gang in Udon Thani Province in the Thai Northeast to withdraw 500,000 baht from her bank account in exchange for a fake first-prized lottery set worth six million baht. However, the elderly was safe from losing her money due to a thorough check and alert by two personnel of the bank. (TNA)