Success Story #7: Money Laundering
Thailand Bail Wins 18.1M THB Money Laundering Case
SUMMARY
Thailand Bail, an international law firm based in Bangkok, Thailand, has confirmed a win in a landmark money laundering case at the Bangkok Civil Court in March 2017. With over 18.1 million Thai baht at stake, winning this case was very important for our client. Finally, this case will serve as a critical piece of evidence in the associated criminal case we are also managing.
BACKGROUND
On 29 March 2017, the Civil Court of Bangkok (Ratchada Civil Court) ruled in favor of Thailand Bail’s client, Mr. “Yuri” (name changed for this article), on the matter of a civil case of money laundering involving over 18.1 million Thai baht (THB). This was an incredible accomplishment for the lawyers of Thailand Bail, since we had to defend our client while he was still in prison for a criminal matter. In addition to the lack of regular access to our client, we had to fight against some large groups, including Thailand’s Anti-Money Laundering Organization (AMLO) as well as the prosecutor in the case. The evidence amounted to over 5,000 pages of bank records, business registration documents, and other evidence against Mr. Yuri.
Also referred to as Mr. Yury in the indictment filed against him, Yuri has been the target of several legal actions against him since he was originally detained by the Tourist Police in Pattaya in July 2016. Since July 2016, Mr. Yury and another defendant have been detained at the Bangkok Remand Prison at Klong Prem, on the north side of Bangkok, and the Women’s Prison at Klong Prep and the MCC in New York City, respectively. From July 2016, Mr. Yuri was arrested because of an arrest warrant issued by the Eastern District of New York Court, which accompanied a request to provisionally arrest him for extradition to the United States. Russian citizens in Thailand have been arrested on similar requests before, most notably the well-known Russian businessman Viktor Bout (also referred to as Victor Bout), who fought extradition to the United States from 2008 to 2010, until he eventually lost the extradition battle, was extradited to the US, lost his case, and was sentenced to 25 years in prison in Illinois.
THE RIGHT LEGAL STRATEGY
For our own case involving Mr. Yuri, we looked strategically at the stacks of evidence against our client, and gradually came up with a proper defense against the charges of money laundering. It was not an easy feat, but we were overjoyed at the verdict handed down a few weeks ago. The court hearing was attended by our lawyers and case managers, the Russian Embassy in Bangkok, and the family and friends of our client. In the judgment, the judges ruled that the money in question, totaling over 18.1 million THB, was not illegally gained or laundered. The only amount of money that the judge ruled against us on was 570,000 THB that they deemed was illegally gained through companies that our client set up to buy and sell property in Thailand. This is related to evidence submitted to the Criminal Court of Bangkok for a separate criminal case.
AN IMPORTANT SUCCESS
We value our successes, and this was a tremendous success for our client. Instead of having to forfeit and pay 18.1 million baht, we were able to save this money for our client. Our legal fees were a tiny fraction of this amount, making the legal services of the lawyers at Thailand Bail a very good investment. Furthermore, we will be able to use this court judgment in the other legal matters of Mr. Yuri, including the extradition case (we also successfully defended against extradition, and the court dropped this case), and the criminal case (trial to be held later this year). We typically do not speak openly about the clients we manage, since we believe in strict confidentiality for our clients, but the case of Mr. Yuri is so well known already, having been covered by all major media outlets, including the BBC, The Guardian, CNN, the Bangkok Post, etc… that we wanted to publish our success story concerning this case.
THE WORK OF THAILAND BAIL
Thailand Bail is well-known and respected for the work we do on criminal cases and bail, but we also accept civil court cases when they involve a criminal element. Since this case in the Civil Court of Bangkok was connected to a criminal case in the Criminal Court of Bangkok, we decided to take it on. Each and every case we manage receives the full attention of our lawyers, case managers, translators, and other legal staff. Indeed, the case of Mr. Yuri involved three (3) languages – Thai, English, and Russian. We ensured that we had a skilled interpreter in court as well, in order to make sure that the testimony given by Mr. Yuri and our other witnesses was accurately received and understood by the court.
FINAL THOUGHTS
As a final note, we would like to state that these cases are challenging. The evidence was against us, as it involved evidence from the United States detailing the computer hacking, theft, and laundering of around $600,000 USD. Certainly this money was taken from companies outside Thailand, and we condemn this action. However, our client had nothing to do with the computer hacking, theft, or laundering of the funds. Fortunately for us and our client Mr. Yuri, the judges saw what we saw – an innocent man who was wrongfully accused of the actions of others. We are very pleased with the outcome of this case. Thailand Bail wins another case and saves our clients millions of Thai baht in fines, fees, and compensation that would have to be paid. Thailand Bail has developed a very positive track record for winning cases for our clients. The case of Mr. Yuri is an excellent example of how we accepted the case, made a plan to defend against the charges, and won the case.
If you have a criminal case, a civil case, an extradition case, or other legal matter in Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya, Chiang Mai, Hua Hin, Koh Samui, Korat, Samut Prakarn, or other location in Thailand, contact Thailand Bail’s lawyers today and discuss what we can do for your case. Our email address is info@thailandbail.com or you can use any of the other contact details on our contact page here: www.thailandbail.com/contact
