A Taiwanese businessman who reportedly defrauded over 10,000 investors in a phony pharmaceutical company that he and his friends formed during the COVID-19 outbreak in Taiwan out of an estimated 23 billion baht has been captured by Thai immigration and Taiwanese police.
The suspect, only known as “Huang” by Taiwanese police, was apprehended at a condo in Bangkok’s Pratunam district yesterday (Friday) during a raid. One million Baht in cash, five mobile phones, a Singaporean ID card, and numerous credit cards were found when his room was searched.
According to Thai immigration officials, Huang and his associates founded a pharmaceutical business in Taiwan during the pandemic and then floated the business on the Taiwanese stock exchange. The stock price was then artificially manipulated to reach 500 baht a share through the establishment of numerous shell firms to trade shares. More than 10,000 Taiwanese people were duped into purchasing the business’s shares.
Huang and his friends shut down the pharmaceutical company after transferring the investors’ money into the bank accounts they had set up abroad.
According to reports, Huang escaped to Singapore, Vanuatu, and Bangkok before being apprehended yesterday. He had apparently been hiding in Thailand since February 5, 2021, when he flew to Bangkok using a Singaporean passport.
In Taiwan, authorities have also detained another 27 individuals.
