Thai court approves arrest warrant against Russian suspect in ATM heist

BANGKOK, August 31 (TNA) - A Thai court has approved an arrest warrant against a Russian man suspected for his involvement in a hacked ATM heist earlier this month, causing damage of at least 12 million baht to the Government Savings Bank (GSB). Police General Panya Mamen, a senior adviser to the Royal Thai Police, told journalists of the update, saying that the Russian suspect, identified as Rustam Shambasov, was found to arrive in Thailand from Beijing on July 14 and left the Thai Kingdom for Moscow on August 1. Police General Panya stated that Thai police have already sought cooperation from Interpol to track him down after the evidence showed he stole money from GSB's 18 automated teller machines (ATMs) in Phuket in the Thai South and Bangkok. According to the senior advisor, police investigators will also seek the court's approval of arrest warrants against more accomplices, including Thai nationals, but further details cannot be disclosed yet. The senior advisor revealed that no evidence has shown any GSB official involved in the thefts. The foreign robbery gangsters, whose records showed they had travelled to Thailand several times, loaded malware onto GSB's ATMs and made the machines dispense the money. In March 2016, they committed the same crime in Phuket's neighbouring Phang-nga Province and made off with four million baht. In their latest crime earlier this month, Thai police believe some amount of the stolen money has already been transferred out of the country. (TNA)