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Published on January 19, 2008

Weerachat Sribunma, director of the BOT's litigation office, said if the shops were found guilty, their card-reader machines would be seized and the card companies would be told to cease providing funds for further loans.

In December, the BOT and four state agencies - the Economic and Cyber Crime Division, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, the Office of the Consumer Protection Board and the Revenue Department - launched a concerted crackdown on about 1,000 illegal non-bank companies and 5,000 illegal personal-loan providers.

The authorities want to suppress the illegal financial businesses completely because they not only burden borrowers with high interest rates but also have an economic and social impact on the entire country.

"We are changing working patterns and will have a clearer plan on this issue next month," Weerachat said.

Currently, cards issued by Aeon Thana Sinsap (Thailand) and GE Capital have some loopholes for shady money shops to do unlawful business while those issued by Easy Buy and other companies have no such channels for the illegal business.

There are 33 legal non-bank companies that are approved to offer financial services, but only 20 of them are operating. The major companies are Aeon Thana Sinsap (Thailand), Cetelem, Easy Buy, GE Money and Capital OK.

Weerachat said the authorities knew which small unlawful lenders were involved in the business but would not yet arrest them because they want to crack down on the big fish.

Some related organisations have been probing money movements and tax payments, while others has been collecting other types of information in the effort to clamp down on illegal lending.

The authorities want to suppress not only the illegal lenders, but also any party found guilty of collaborating with them.

Anoma Srisukkasem

The Nation