Scot linked to bank card fraud after Thai arrests

Published on Thursday 6 January 2011 16:48

A SCOTS crime boss has been linked to an international fraud gang uncovered in Thailand.

Two Romanians have been charged after police discovered hundreds of counterfeit ATM cards in their Bangkok hotel room - some believed to have been cloned in Scotland - which had been used to steal cash.

Sergiu Roatis and Daniel Vint were arrested by Thai police in their Bangkok hotel room on Wednesday. Officers confiscated 366 fake bank cards, a card skimmer and Thai money worth about 2,700.

At a press conference, officers claimed that the gang had stolen up to 300,000.

They added that Vint and Roatis told them the leader of the gang was a Scot who would send them financial information from hacked bank cards in Scotland and England.

Three other men are thought to have entered Thailand with the two Romanians on New Year's Day.

Investigators told Thai television that they had acted on a tip from banks in Europe. A Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency spokesman said they were not aware of the incident.