Transcript of the above video: 

Look folks, there is a lot going on out there and I'm trying to stay on top of all of it. And I really appreciate you folks giving me the heads up about stuff and I have seen that yeah there's a lot of news out there about Tax, immigration, Banking now, issues that pertain to expats just sort of generally. Also I think it's worth noting, as I have discussed regarding the DTV when it was all wine and roses regarding that, look things change when it comes to the low season, we come off the high season and I always thought when it got to the point when that first six months was going to expire, the rubber was going to hit the road and I didn't think everything was going to be just as peachy keen as they were talking about at the beginning of this thing. So those of you who think I am cynical, or I was just trying to sort of talk my own book on such matters, that wasn't my purpose. I was talking objectively because this is how the Immigration System works. It has a kind of cycle and here we are.

I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Pattaya Mail, pattayamail.com, the article is titled: Foreign applicants for Thai bank accounts facing new crackdown. And before people say, 'well that doesn't have anything to do with the DTV or anything else having to do with Immigration' - banking is inextricably linked to Immigration because you need Bank Accounts in order to get things like Visa Extensions in the case of a Retirement for example O or O-A Retirement Visas, you need to extend utilize and bank accounts to prove up financial resources in order to stay in the Kingdom. Meanwhile the DTV - although it is continuously evolving - there is a financial component to that. That said, quoting directly: "Foreigners wishing to open a Thai Account face additional hurdles from Monday, February 17. Even those who require a Savings or Current Account to apply for a Destination Thailand Visa (with 500,000 baht) or for a Non-Immigrant "O" Retirement permit (with 800,000 Baht) are likely to find difficulties. Well-connected and popular agencies such as Tik Tok based in Jomtien, have advised on social media that they will be unable to assist with bank accounts for foreign customers until further notice. The Thai Government, via Bank of Thailand, has officially launched a renewed attack on mule accounts in Thailand aiming to curb financial fraud and money laundering. Freezing a staggering 1.8 million bank accounts expected of being mule accounts, the Anti-Money Laundering Office says that 2,500 account holders have actually been arrested during the past year. Police enquiries are now centering on telecommunications companies, digital platforms, e-wallet service providers as well as actual consumers. Government Officials are reluctant to give a timescale for the latest crackdown on foreigners trying to open bank accounts in Thailand." 

I think that's very telling when they are not willing to say, "hey this is just kind of like it's an initiative, it sort of has a beginning and an end", that means it looks like policy okay? And it looks like this is coming from Bank of Thailand kind of tightening up requirements to get a Bank Account and understanding, getting a Bank Account is key to getting one of these visas, you'll see where this thing goes. Quoting further: "Tellers at Thai Banks told Pattaya Mail that the problem might last for several weeks, whilst investigations continue into fake websites, messaging apps, social media and individuals suspected of involvement in banking criminality. Some Bank Staff say that the biggest single issue involves Asian tourists opening bank accounts to launder cash into capital-flight cryptocurrency which is hard to track." Whatever.

Quite frankly, I think that it's just this let me be clear, with regard to this policy, I don't like it, okay? I think it's just another iteration of this nanny minder, we want to track and trace everything kind of nonsense. That said, it does interact with genuine law enforcement. I suspect some of those 2500 people they arrested - I would love to know how many were foreigners; I'd love to know some of the nationalities; I'd love to know if they were Thais operating at the behest of foreigners. Again, a lot of questions come up. I'm not naive. I don't think that there's not genuine law enforcement interest in doing these things. But that said, especially piggybacking after this Digital Wallet and all of this nonsense where they try to get the country to go into a bunch of debt so we could all be tracked and traced under a totalitarian grid. You'll forgive me if I seem a little paranoid in times but that said, I do get there's an intersect and I do get that there are national interests in law enforcement and maintaining some sort of 'Know Your Customer' kind of thing; I do get that. But at the same time, a lot of it feels like a lot of Nanny-mindering and you have to wonder how much “money laundering is going on and how much genuine trade that they just don't want to be bothered by being nicked at every turn by basically a bunch of Nanny-minders who think they get to extract wealth from people working for a living. You also have to ask the question, how many of those folks got swept up in this dragnet of banking. 

That being said, and more to the point for this video, this can have tremendous ramifications on foreigners here in Thailand from both a Visa standpoint, from both an ongoing extension standpoint, as well as newly minted foreigners just coming into the country. Stay tuned to this channel; we will certainly keep you updated on this channel as the situation evolves.