@bingbong, can you also PM me the URL, would like to see how it works and if my country also has something similair.Hi PT yes I agree that I should be acting quicker, it's in the works! As for the URL if you want I can send it to you via PM? As it's my home country's immigration website.
Meze, unfortunately it's true and there's a word here for it, that means "treating you for a meal" in my country's language.
Like you mentioned, I'm currently in a place that is filled with tourists year-round so they're accustomed to foreigners and never have I been asked for papers. I'd like to work towards something long term though, while my papers are still valid. Once it expires I'll be stuck, like forever.
Yea I think the good thing the US is that corrupt as the gov. officials may be, the entire superstructure is upheld by the facade of justice and equality under the law. At least the US has ideals (purportedly). So if you manage to get enough exposure or press via social media on your case they will likely buckle and do the right, or the popular thing if you get social media on your side.
Whereas with Asia they don't care if the world knows about it - like how Singapore recently murdered (Yes I'm using this word) its citizen for the possession/sale(?) of marijuana, despite facing international pressure from human rights groups they just went ahead with the hanging.
Asians' image that they're just weird and quirky helps their government get away with anything, the world is like : "That's just how they are"
Like how people laugh at North Koreans for clapping and crying when they see their Supreme Leader but I bet they would have a different reaction if it were a "normal" mainstream country. It's hard to explain but yea.
The thing is Jackson - I have done the time. They just keep coming.
Wouldn't this case warrant an Interpol "wanted" status though? As it's a huge case. As far as I know Singapore's immigration is vacuum tight so he must have entered through his own passport?
H Jack, yeah so at this point I'm not even thinking about it as punishment or not, it's just a matter of self-preservation at this point - Like I said, I'm ready tobe judged in the afterlife, but not by these corrupt court judges.
Going to prison changes your perspective on everything.
how did this end for you if you are still around and want to talk about it additionally ?Backstory
Okay here goes, hi guys so I'm in a bit of a situation and would appreciate any input at this point. It's a bit long but I want to give you the entire story.
If you don't want to spend too much time reading just skip to the "TLDR : Course of Action" section at the end.
I'm from South East Asia by the way, (one of the more developed countries there) - it should be relevant for context.
So what happened was I was running an ecommerce business a couple of years ago when covid hit and it was doing amazing, until it wasn't.
Long story short we racked up a bunch of debt (suppliers mainly, and a few employees) on the business and I put everything I had personally (including my house!) to salvage the whole thing and to pay everyone.
And in my desperation, I reached out to a "friend", let's call him Andy - who I knew had money but wasn't too sure what he was doing. I asked him for a loan.
He declined, quoting his "principles" in not lending money to friends, but said he had another avenue for me to get cash fast.
The stupid mistake
Andy introduced me to the concept of "Nominee Services", where people who are ineligible for bank accounts or would like some anonymity would use bank accounts in a "nominee's" name.
I had a bad feeling about this as I heard about money mules and what happens but somehow he managed to convince me that this was different and legitimate (plus my desperation at the time).
I ended up giving him access to not one, but FIVE of my personal bank accounts as he paid per account. *YES I KNOW I was an idiot for doing this!
I did get my regular bank statements and looked through them, but didn't think much of them as the payment reference were all about "business" and it all looked pretty legit.
I got the cash and went about my business, managed to turn the business around. About a year elapsed with no issues. Happy days, no harm no foul - so I thought.
The horror begins
One fine night, we (my family and I) got a knock on the door, it was the police, requesting that I follow them to the station to assist with an investigation.
This being my first run-in with the law, I didn't even think of contacting a lawyer, I thought that was only for court hearings.
The Case Officer that was in charge of investigating my case briefed me on what happened and basically the 5 accounts that I gave Andy were used for SCAMS!
Scams ranging from investment scams, car plate scams (basically selling non-existent fancy car plate numbers), crypto scams, and more.
I provided all the pertinent evidence related to Andy and everything to prove I wasn't involved in the scam but it didn't matter because I was charged for lending the account, not the scams.
Andy on the other hand, unexpectedly, was un-contactable and is nowhere to be found in his residence.
The officer re-assured me that this was a minor offence and charged me under a minor Section, and told me to plead guilty in court and pay a $1000 fine.
It was nighttime so I spent the night in a lockup and went to court the following morning. Again, first run-in with the law, didn't think of getting a lawyer, represented myself. Pled guilty, paid the fine. Went home.
A few days after the court hearing, I received letters from ALL of my banks, saying that they will be no longer be providing me with services and I had to collect my cash or a cashiers check at the branch.
One of my bankers said that I had officially been blacklisted by the national bank and all banks in the country (not just the bank account that was involved in the scam) will shut my account. Not just my personal accounts, my LIMITED LIABILITY corporate accounts were shut down.
It Continues
After a couple of months, the police came AGAIN - this time a Case officer from another state, I had to follow them all the way across the country back to the station.
Apparently, there were many more victims of Andy's and each individual victim's complaints counts as ONE case. So if Andy had scammed 50 people, I would have to give my statement in 50 different police stations under 50 different Case Officers and go to court 50 times. And crazy enough there were actually 50+ cases under my name!
(And maybe MORE that we don't know about, matter of time before the victims find out they've been scammed and start filing complaints.)
YES - in my country, you can get charged for the same crime over and over again and there's no way to lump all victims and pay it off in one charge.
I thought to myself there's no way in hell I'm getting handcuffed again and hauled to court 50 times! So I paid off the police officer (yes, bribes are very common here) and he let me go. He didn't drop the case because he couldn't , there's a complainer (the victim) on the other side, so I was basically just buying time.
Sure enough officers from different states came every single week and we paid them off every single time just to be left alone!
Until one day we had enough. I decided to face it head on. Followed the officer back to the station, and the next day was brought to court.
PRISON
But this time, something was different. The charge read to me by the plaintiff sounded a bit different, she mentioned something about jailtime AND/OR a fine.
Apparently, the plaintiff (or something like that) can recommended a stronger charge than the one filed by the Case officer if the victim's losses are substantial!
In the absence of a lawyer and following the advice of the officer the previous night, I pled guilty and opted for a fine.
To my absolute shock, the judge practiced her "DISCRETION" to sentence me to a fine PLUS 80 days in prison!
I broke down in tears and didn't know what to do, I didn't know that I could request a re-hearing or even to plead not guilty etc...
After the sentencing I asked whether I could take it back and plead not guilty, she said NO the only thing I can do now is get a lawyer to file an APPEAL for another hearing on the case.
So I was hauled to prison and suffered for 80 days in what is truly Hell on earth. I don't want to make this longer than it already is by describing what it's like in a South East Asian's country's jail but it's bad. Just watch documentaries of it on Youtube and you'll get an idea, completely accurate.
Anyways, the lawyer came for a visit after the mandatory 2-weeks lockdown in horrible isolation cells - and he advised against an appeal as the courts are so full that by the time I get my hearing, it'd be towards the end of my sentence already. So I had to serve the full 80 days.
THE ESCAPE
After I was out of prison I thought they'd drop the cases as I already served my sentence but NOPE the other 40+ officers continued to come as usual.
I decided that enough is enough. I'm NEVER going to be in another pair of handcuffs, another police station, another court, another jail/prison.
Especially for crimes that I didn't commit! (Yes I did stupidly give access to my account, but the perpetrators are scott-free and I'm perpetually paying for crimes against victims whom I gained nothing out of!)
I decided to leave the country. Funnily enough my travel status was clear, as I didn't have outstanding charges from the court against me (an old one I paid the fine for, another I went to prison for, and 40+ more officers looking for me to record a statement before they charged me. So technically I wasn't Wanted. Not yet anyway.
The Situation Now
I renewed my passport for a maximum of 5 years (was surprised they allowed me), and just left for a neighbouring country, and am now a perpetual traveler.
But here's the thing. It's only a matter of time before :
1.) The cops know I've escaped and put me on Wanted in my country and my travel status is barred... Which is not an issue as long as I don't go back to my home country and just be a perpetual traveler... I don't think (TOUCH ON WOOD) they'll put me on Interpol as it's a minor offence...
But eventually :
2.) My passport expires and I'll be unable to hop country to country (About 4+ years remaining) and I'll be forced back to my home country and we all know what that entails.
TLDR : Course of Action
What's done is done and I can't undo the past. What I'm doing now is freelancing as a web designer to fund my travels and daily expenses, and hopping from one country to another every 30 days (or whatever the country permits at a time)
I'm freelancing for clients who are willing to pay in crypto, then selling that to local sellers who pay in cash. In the meantime I've been able to incorporate a UK LTD where I got EMIs for payments - so that solves the bank account issue.
My biggest concern is the passport expiring. I have less than 5 years before I'll be stuck and in deep trouble, so I need to start planning and work towards something.
I have explored many Citizenship By Investment programs like the St. Lucia 100k investment (which I can save up for if I keep my freelancing up) where at least I can get a passport and go from there.
BUT a major obstacle that I see is that in all the documents list for CBI countries, there's always a Letter of Good Standing (or similar) requirement that basically certifies you don't have a criminal record, which obviously at this point I have, since I've been to not just jail, but also prison. And the governments will also do their due diligence.
Do you guys have any suggestions for me at this point?
MISC :
THANK YOU so much for your precious time in reading this long post.
Obviously I made these mistakes because I was dumb and desperate, but here are 10 things I learned so far (and hope some readers of this forum will take to heart)
1.) NEVER listen to the police. They just want to close cases and rise up the ranks - they do NOT have your best interest at heart!
2.) NEVER EVER become a bank "Nominee" no matter how legit or safe they make it sound
3.) NEVER plead guilty to a charge if you don't fully understand the implications
4.) NEVER blindly believe what someone says. Trust but verify!
5.) NEVER give up - keep fighting!
6.) ALWAYS have a lawyer on standby and NEVER give a police statement without him/her
7.) ALWAYS separate your business and personal finances. If the business fails it fails, don't ruin your personal life over it!
8.) ALWAYS find a way to stay alive! In the dark depths of prison I prayed every day (I was an atheist before this lol)
9.) ALWAYS appreciate your family. They're the ones that will be there for you when the world falls apart.
10.) ALWAYS educate yourself in all aspects of life. This would never have happened if I knew more about law and finance.
are you still around Sir ?Re: These people who write about applying for asylum...They have obviously never gone through the process.,. It takes forever just to get an interview, and a favorable decision is RARE. But that is not the worst part! *Once you are in a place as an overstayer or illegal migrant and the government knows you are there, the odds are you will be deported back to wherever you came from. *
This would be a worst-case scenario for you. I can't guess where you are from, but if you are NOT from the Philippines or Thailand and you could go there, go. There are hundreds of thousands of "TnTs" in those places -- TNT meaning people living without proper legal resident status. In fact, the only place I know of where there is active pursuit of "Undocumented" illegal aliens is the USA. And there, if you are white, low profile & speak good English, and fit in, you are not ever going to be questioned. Just stay off all official government records! *Never apply for asylum, residence, or a passport if there is a chance you will be "discovered" and deported.*
Same in the EU, USA or GB. Once you are there and have accumulated enough capital, you can make the next move which IMO would be to simply go and live your life anywhere you want with or without the proper papers. you can, with proper planning get across land borders & GO ANYWHERE without papers. You can go anywhere except in the place where there are pending lawsuits against you or even worse, warrants for your arrest.
Avoid crossing borders where you'd have to show passports or other real ID.
Those old cliches about the Canadian Mounties (or other law enforcement agencies ) always getting their man just are not true. Go to any of the beaches in foreign-owned bars in Pattaya Thailand, or thousands of places elsewhere & you will see many people enjoying a new life in spite of having made mistakes (and being "wanted") in their home countries. A major fugitive like Carlos Ghosn is kind of stuck in the one place (Lebanon) where he is protected and safe. But a minor fugitive like you can live & go literally anywhere --if you are careful about it. In the Peter Taradash other old book, Bye Bye Big Brother, this kind of life is fully explained. The longer you "lay low," the more you will be forgotten ...The people who want to jail or sue you will have other new & bigger fish to fry. My main clients used to be ex-husbands pursued by wives for alimony, etc. In the USA they were jailed and also had their passports revoked if they showed up in court in person. Their problems were worse than yours. but the easy solution was to not fight the system, but to leave the country & start a new life--which is exactly what you should do. Cheer up. Your new life begins today! P.T.
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