38 loan sharks rounded up in Korat

[Johnnie F.]

38 loan sharks rounded up in Korat

Police have made a series of arrests of loan sharks based in Nakhon Ratchasima, netting members of several rackets, some of which demand extremely high interest rates, up to 60 per cent daily, from their clients.

The 38 suspects arrested are believed to belong to a number of loan rackets, most of which have used intimidation or harassment against clients who fail to make daily repayment, said Pol MajGeneral Dechawat Ramsomphob, acting commander of Provincial Police Region 3, and the local chief of operations in an ongoing campaign against loan sharks.

The daily interest rates these rackets have charged clients range from 20 per cent to 60 per cent, he said. Some suspects have admitted to the crimes while many others denied their wrongdoings.

The police are making arrests of loan sharks across the country as a result of the government's newly launched campaign to settle "offsystem" debts between low income earners and illegal money lenders.

By The Nation
Published on November 21, 2009

[Johnnie F.]

Bangkok Post wrote on that topic the 38 were only collectors who'd be fined 900 baht each if convicted. 900 baht for extortion? They'll be back in their business in no time if the courts don't apply harder measures. 

[dirtydog]

It's not really extortion though, the borrowers know the rates before they borrow, my girlfriends sister is a money lender, doesn't charge 60 percent though, in 3 years she has gone from renting a half share in a sawngthaew to owning 3, owning several new trucks, a large plot of land which she is building on, good money in it, only problem she has had with the police is being raided for drugs because they assumed all this new found wealth was drug related, they were quite happy when they found out it was money lending related.

[Johnnie F.]

60 % sounds more like the annual interest than daily. 5 % per month used to be the going rate around here. When TRT introduced the "village fund" where people could borrow at 6% per year the loan sharks were said to have gone near bankrupt lowering their interest rates to "as low as" 3 % a month or 35 % p.a. In the "village fund" in addition to the interest people had to save the same amount to build up capital for the village that could be used for borrowing by others.  I fully agree with the government to put a lid on usury. But better than "rounding up loan-sharks" seems to me to provide alternatives and knowledge by

1) reducing the interest at pawnshops and banks and

2) make loans at banks more accessible. And

3) education in mathematics and the practices of calculating the interest by loan-sharks could help a lot, too.

[dirtydog]

I think in Pattaya it is 10 percent per month on small amounts, ie a few thousand baht, although life would be a lot easier if the Thai banks actually worked like they do in Europe, ie overdraft facilities and even credit cards, there are always times when people do need to borrow money and at present in Thailand the only easy way is through either illegal money lenders or pawn shops.

[Johnnie F.]

Banks seem to work with a different logic here: when the balance on my savings account went lower than 5.000 baht they charged me 50 baht per month for keeping the account. After I wrote them an email with the option to either reimburse those fees or loose a 12-year customer four of their employees showed up at my house and offered me a VISA electron card for 200 baht a year. If I got that they would not charge fees for a balance below 5.000 baht anymore. I still don't know what else that card is good for and why it should be better than the ATM card I was holding before.

[Baby Farts]

I once dated a girl whose father owned 47 houses around Thailand..all acquired from the loan shark business he was involved in. 

[Jaguar]

I once dated a girl whose father owned 47 houses around Thailand..all acquired from the loan shark business he was involved in.

Should have married her and become a banker! 

[Johnnie F.]

Should have married her and become a banker! 

I think they prefer to be called "loan sharks" now and not get blamed for the local recession. 

He might be better off a teacher only.

[Baby Farts]

"He might be better off a teacher only."


How do you think I met her?   

[Johnnie F.]

"He might be better off a teacher only."


How do you think I met her?   

Let me guess: you needed a loan to buy more chalk.

[Baby Farts]

Something like that.