Thai immigration police raid visa agency over fake bank statements

Bangkok, 17 August 2026 - Immigration authorities conducted a raid on a Bangkok-based visa agency after suspicions emerged regarding falsified bank statements and other fraudulent documents used in applications for European visas. The investigation began following an alert from a European embassy, which reported several Thai applicants submitting suspicious documents, particularly bank statements believed to be forged.

Deputy Chief Pol. Maj. Gen. Phanthana Nuchanart of the Immigration Bureau authorized a search warrant from the Min Buri Criminal Court to be carried out at the visa consultancy office in Bangkok's Sai Mai district. Law enforcement seized various counterfeit items, including fake bank stamps, bank-related stamps from multiple agencies, over 20 suspected fraudulent financial documents, four computers, and dozens of additional forged documents, such as salary certificates and bank statements.

Investigators suspected the office was being utilized to produce counterfeit documents for Thai clients seeking visas for international travel. Upon comparing the seized materials with records from the relevant banks, irregularities were identified in five cases. The identities of the applicants did not correspond with the actual owners of the bank accounts, and transaction records had been altered, lacking consistency with the information verified by the banks.

Moreover, investigators discovered that the five applicants' travel expenses were paid using the same foreign bank credit card number.

Chief Pol. Maj. Gen. Songprod Sirisukha of Immigration Division 3 disclosed preliminary findings suggesting that more than 400 customers might have been impacted. The company reportedly charged each client 40,000 baht, resulting in a total value of more than 16 million baht in suspected transactions. The suspects face potential charges under Sections 264, 265, and 268 of the Criminal Code for jointly forging and using forged documents, as well as under Sections 251 and 252 for forging official seals.

The precise charges will be determined following forensic examination of the seized evidence and further investigation.

Authorities emphasized that the exact charges will only be established after the forensic analysis of the evidence and the continuation of the investigation.