In recent years, Thailand has attracted many foreigners involved in the grey industry due to its convenient geographical location, relatively relaxed environment, and large tourist base.
However, how do these "grey industry personnel" maximize their profits in Thailand and circumvent legal risks? The following will delve into this secretive industry ecosystem.
What is the "grey industry"?
The grey industry refers to commercial activities that lie between legal and illegal. These activities may exploit legal loopholes or operate through covert means. Common grey industries include online gambling, cross-border e-commerce tax evasion, virtual currency transaction laundering, illegal gambling promotion, underground network services, and illegal labor intermediation, etc.
In Thailand, these grey activities have gradually formed a unique ecosystem due to the specificity of policies and markets.
Main ways for grey industry personnel to make money in Thailand
1. Operation of online gambling platforms
Although gambling is strictly prohibited in Thailand, this has not stopped grey industry personnel from using online platforms to bypass regulations. They open gambling websites through companies registered abroad and attract global players to participate.
Operating mode: Most gambling platforms use servers in Thailand and use cryptocurrencies for financial settlements to avoid bank supervision.
Revenue source: Commissions and the difference between wins and losses, with monthly turnovers often reaching millions of dollars.
Key link: Grey industry personnel usually employ local Thai customer service or technical staff to reduce operating costs, while using social media and advertising platforms for precise promotion.
2. Cross-border e-commerce and counterfeit product sales
Many grey industry personnel use Thailand as a transit point to sell counterfeit luxury goods, electronic products, etc., to the global market.
Operation method: Produce low-cost goods in small factories in Thailand and disguise them as genuine products on e-commerce platforms.
Profit margin: The cost of counterfeit products may only be 1%-5% of the genuine ones, but the selling price is often close to 50%-70% of the genuine products.
Tax evasion strategy: Evade tax authorities' supervision through dispersed accounts and virtual addresses.
3. Virtual currency transactions and money laundering
With the popularity of cryptocurrencies, Thailand has become an important market for grey industry personnel to use virtual currencies for money laundering.
Specific operation: Convert illegal proceeds into cryptocurrencies, then transfer them through different platforms multiple times before converting them back into legal tender.
Technical support: Grey industry practitioners rely on professional programmers to construct a "maze" of capital flows, making it difficult for regulatory agencies to trace the source of funds.
4. Illegal labor intermediation and human trafficking, organizing prostitution, soliciting prostitution, and other flesh trade.
As an important labor export and import site in Southeast Asia, many grey industry personnel are involved in illegal labor intermediation. Many inexperienced women are lured from China, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Laos to Thailand and forced into prostitution.
Common method: Use high salaries as bait to illegally send laborers to Europe, the Middle East, or other Southeast Asian countries, charging high intermediary fees.
Hidden risks: These laborers are often exploited for wages and even forced to engage in illegal activities.
5. Hacker services and underground network transactions
There are many technical talents among Thailand's grey industry personnel, providing hacker services, data leakage transactions, and other cybercrime support.
Transaction method: Mainly completed through dark web platforms and Bitcoin transactions, highly secretive.
Pillars of the grey industry: Low cost and secrecy
Visa leniency: Many involved in the grey industry enter the country on tourist visas and then stay for an extended period.
Thailand's regulatory system for foreigners has loopholes in some areas, key for grey industry personnel to profit:
Language advantage: Many grey industry operations target the global market, mainly using English or Chinese, with a low language barrier in Thailand.
Low cost of living: Thailand's low prices allow grey industry personnel to maintain their lives and operations at a low cost.
Thai government's countermeasures
Strengthen visa scrutiny: Thailand's Immigration Bureau has recently tightened visa policies, strictly checking the activities of foreigners.
Financial regulation upgrade: The Bank of Thailand and the Anti-Money Laundering Office have joined forces to focus on combating the use of virtual currencies for money laundering.
Combat illegal networks: The police have established a special cybercrime investigation department to track the activities of grey industry personnel.
Thai law has clear and severe penalties for foreigners engaged in illegal activities.
Warning to grey industry personnel: The legal risks are enormous.
Money laundering crimes: Once verified, can result in imprisonment of 10 years or more. Illegal gambling: Both operators and participants will face severe penalties, with serious cases possibly leading to life imprisonment.
Illegal work: Those caught not only face high fines but may also be deported and blacklisted.
Although Thailand is still a "paradise" for some "grey industry" personnel, as legal regulation continues to strengthen, the survival space for these activities will increasingly diminish. For those making a living in Thailand, seeking long-term development is the fundamental way.
