Transnational money laundering network exposed
The Nation reported that on November 9, the Thai Cyber Police (CCIB) and the anti-money laundering agency (AMLO) simultaneously raided 36 locations in Bangkok and Trat province, seizing assets worth more than 2.5 million USD related to Phat Suphapha, also known as Ly Yong Phat - a Cambodian congressman and businessman of Chinese - Thai origin, owner of L.Y.P Group (LYP) Group.
In the capital Bangkok, authorities inspected two luxury apartments in the Sukhumvit area and seized all of their real estate records. Meanwhile, in Trat province, authorities seized land worth about $140,000 and many bank accounts contained more than $2.4 million.
According to CCIB's investigation results, Ly Yong Phat and his colleagues have established a sophisticated money laundering system, sharing profits from international fraud rings, then transferring capital through many intermediary layers to conceal the origin.
Thai authorities have issued a wanted notice for five suspects, including Ly Yong Phat (67 years old), chokchai Suphapha (37 years old) - a close associate, and three Chinese citizens, on charges of "conspiration to launder money and accomplices in money laundering".
A government source said that Prime Minister and Minister of Home Affairs Anutin Charnvirakul has included the crackdown on fraud gangs and cybercrime in the national agenda, requiring authorities to launch a comprehensive crackdown.
"Boss" punished by the US
Born in Koh Kong province (Cambodia), "boss" Ly Yong Phat - also known as Thai name Phat Suphapha - migrated to Thailand during the Cambodian civil war and was granted Thai citizenship.
Since the 1990s, Ly Yong Phat - nicknamed "Sia Phat" - has been in charge of developing a series of hotels, resorts and attractions in the Koh Kong border area, then expanding to the provinces of Preah Vihear, Oddar Meanchey and Phnom Penh of Cambodia.
This person's LYP Group does business in many industries, including real estate, energy, agriculture, road manufacturing, tourism and casino.
However, in 2024, the US Treasury Department added four LYP Group hotels and resorts, including O-Smach Resort, Garden City Hotel, Koh Kong Resort and Phnom Penh Hotel, to the sanctions list, accusing them of shady business, forced labor and detention of fraud victims.
Despite Cambodia's strong opposition, subsequent investigations by CCIB and AMLO show that Ly Yong Phat has direct links to the fraud ring operating at the O-S mach Resort. Previously, in 2024, AMLO confiscated an asset worth about $2 million from him.
On October 24, 2025, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul signed a decree revoking Ly Yong Phat's Thai nationality, based on a report from AMLO and the Consular Department (Thailand Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
According to the 65 Civil Code, Ly Yong Phat's actions "threatened national security, public order and social morality", due to being related to cybercrime, human trafficking and cross-border fraud.
The order also cited Ly Yong Phat's being placed on the US sanctions list by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), considering him a key link in the underground financial network in the Mekong region.
Meanwhile, scam boss Chen Zhi - the founder of Cambodia's Prince Holding Group - is also being chased by Asian and Western judiciary agencies, confiscating hundreds of millions of USD in assets.
Chen Zhi is currently being prosecuted by the US Department of Justice for operating an international online fraud network operating in the US, UK, Palau and many other countries and territories.
