Chinese fraud syndicate caught after swindling 500 million baht from Thai investors

A Chinese national believed to be at the helm of a swindling operation, was taken into custody by the Thai authorities alongside ten other members of the fraud gang. The group is accused of soliciting people to participate in a bogus gold investment scheme, alleging its connection with Thailand’s Crown Property Bureau.

The illicit operation, which duped victims of around 500 million baht (US$14,213,630) in total, was run primarily from the notorious Kings Romans casino in the Golden Triangle, Laos, the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) stressed.

The alleged linchpin of the operation, identified as 32 year old Teng June, was apprehended in Bangkok’s Bang Khunthian district. In the following days, nine other Thai nationals and one stateless woman involved in the operation were seized in Chiang Rai and Chanthaburi provinces, TCSD commander Athip Pongsiwapai articulated yesterday.

At the point of arrest, the police confiscated a comprehensive array of possessions from the criminals, including three luxury vehicles, cash tallying over 5 million baht, 30 gold trinkets, high-range watches, designer bags, computer systems, mobile signals, SIM cards, bank account books, gold certificates, and other mementoes.

All the accused were charged with participating in fraudulent activities, inputting inaccurate information into a computer system, and money laundering offences, and are currently being held in police custody awaiting legal proceedings.

In the preceding days, the Crown Property Bureau lodged police complaints regarding a group of swindlers who were using the bureau’s name to commence a website coined Royal Gold, aiming to allure people into deceptive gold investment opportunities.

Between January and May, hundreds found themselves victims of this swindle, costing around 500 million baht in damages, as revealed by Athip.

As per TCSD investigators’ findings, Teng June was the brains behind this operation, chiefly based in the compound of the Kings Romans casino in the Bokeo province of Laos, reported Bangkok Post.

The investigators identified that Teng June directed operations and assigned duties to other members of the scamming troupe.

The crime syndicate devised fictitious Facebook accounts, using attractive women as profile pictures to attract internet users. They targeted prospective investors, enticing them to invest in gold on their Royal Gold website replete with stock price graphs and trading volumes, Deputy TCSD Commander Siriwat Deephor explained.

In an attempt to enhance their credibility, the swindling operation asserted that the website invested in gold directly affiliated with the Crown Property Bureau, Siriwat added.

Initially, the victims saw an investment return rate of 10%. However, when individuals requested to withdraw their funds, they were hoodwinked into transferring additional money under the pretext of ‘taxes and additional services’ before the fraudsters vanished without a trace.

Nethi Wongkularp, superintendent of TSCD sub-division 2, who led the arrest operation, described that the acquired funds were used to purchase cryptocurrency before transferring it into digital wallet accounts of individuals who were previously contracted for money laundering purposes.

The investigation revealed that those hired to set up bank accounts and digital wallets primarily resided in Chiang Rai province, with each individual’s services costing between 3,000 to 4,000 baht, Wongkularp elucidated.