Key takeaways:
- Five foreign nationals have been detained in Thailand in connection with a fraudulent crypto investment platform that defrauded investors of over $27 million.
- Investment schemes continue to cause the most financial damage of all frauds registered in the nation, according to a CCIB spokesperson.
Five foreign nationals have been detained in Thailand by authorities in connection with a fraudulent cryptocurrency investment platform that defrauded local investors out of over $27 million.
A fraudulent investment scam that defrauded more than 3,200 locals was orchestrated, according to an early investigation from Thailand’s Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB), which led to the arrest of four people from China and one from Laos.
With the help of the United States Homeland Security Investigations and other foreign law enforcement organizations, aggrieved investors came forward in late 2022 and claimed they had lost investments made through bchgloballtd[.]com. The CCIB then started investing in the operation.
After their capture, the five suspects were detained and charged with conspiring to commit money laundering, public fraud, and transnational crimes.
Prior to the anti-money laundering agency seizing the suspects’ personal property, which was valued at 585 million baht, the office of the attorney general in Thailand sought to prosecute the suspects in August 2022.
Investment schemes continue to cause the most financial damage of all frauds registered in the nation, according to CCIB spokesperson Kissana Phathanacharoen. Victims allegedly put their whole life savings into the schemes or obtained mortgages or property loans.
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand announced new guidelines for the country’s virtual asset service providers in January 2023 to enhance investor protection and secure user funds kept by custody providers.
Scammers have even gone as far as utilizing government-owned websites to deceive victims into giving them access to their cryptocurrency wallet holdings by targeting MetaMask users.
In July, Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC Thailand) published regulations to ensure that investors are adequately informed about the risks connected with cryptocurrency. Operators of digital asset businesses are prohibited by the SEC from offering deposit staking and lending services.
