According to police, a Chinese couple who were detained on Tuesday, May 30, in a mansion in Bangkok’s Prawet neighborhood, are responsible for a hybrid scheme that may have defrauded both Thais and foreigners out of more than 10 billion baht.
At the address, police seized luxury bags, 14 Bearbrick dolls, six iPhones, an iPad, and land title deeds worth over 180 million baht in addition to more than 1.5 million baht in cash. The 31 and 25-year-old Chinese couple was accused of running the online investment scam and money laundering.
The arrests were made during the “Trust No One: Crypto King Hunting” operation, which involved police raids at six addresses in the Srinakarin and Krungthep Kreetha neighborhoods of Bangkok. According to police, US agencies supported the probe.
The operation was started as a result of complaints made by victims to the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau about how fraudsters had persuaded them to invest in phony bitcoin and other assets.
According to authorities, the swindle cost the victims, who reside in Bangkok and Prachuap Khiri Khan, more than 35 million baht.
Police discovered three more international victims of the con artists after working with the FBI, Secret Service, and Department of Homeland Security in the US. They said there were three victims: two in the US and one in the UK.
The police believe there are further victims and believe the scam’s losses could exceed 10 billion Thai Baht.
