Authorities report the arrest of a Chinese couple in an upscale residence situated in Bangkok’s Prawet district on Tuesday, May 30th.
They are suspected to be the masterminds behind an intricate scam operation that potentially raked in upwards of 10 billion baht (US$288 million) from both Thai nationals and foreign individuals.
In their possession, officials seized over 1.5 million baht in cash at the address, in addition to land ownership documents valued at over 180 million baht, 14 Bearbrick figurines, six iPhones, an iPad, MacBook, and high-end handbags.
The Chinese pair, 31 and 25 years of age, faced charges related to running the online financial fraud as well as money laundering.
The detentions took place amidst the execution of “Trust No One: Crypto King Hunting,” an operation during which law enforcement carried out raids on six properties in the Srinakarin and Krungthep Kreetha areas of Bangkok.
American agencies also assisted in the investigation, as per law enforcement officials.
The initiative was prompted by reports to the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau from victims claiming to have been deceived into investing in fictitious cryptocurrency and other financial instruments.
The victims, who are residing in Bangkok and Prachuap Khiri Khan, have lost more than 35 million baht as part of the deceit, as reported by the police.
Law enforcement collaborated with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Secret Service, and Department of Homeland Security, identifying an additional three foreign victims lured by the scammers.
Two of these victims resided in the US, with the third located in Britain, as confirmed by the authorities.
Law enforcement predicts there are additional victims and estimates the financial impact of the fraudulent activity could exceed 10 billion baht.
