Once bitten… English financial advisor who took chunk out of Thai investors
Foreign financial “advisors” have been defrauding the country’s ex-pats for decades. Does seeing the arrest of Briton Mark Kirkham mean that the Thai economic police are finally catching up with them? Probably not, and why would you expect them to?
Kirkham, according to financial blogger Andrew Drummond, looked every inch the upstanding member of the community on his arrest at a Bangkok airport. Unfortunately, this is the same Kirkham who is accused of ripping off clients to the tune of 40 million baht, more or less a million bucks.
Kirkham and his company were to be prosecuted in 2016 for operating a securities business in Thailand without registration, but somehow that never happened.
An arrest warrant was issued by Bangkok South Criminal Court on Dec 22, 2021, for similar offences in violation of Section 90 of the Securities and Exchange Act, according to reports the Bangkok Post.
Back in 2016 it was foreign investors who complained. This time the investors are Thai, who, no doubt know the best way to spur law enforcement into action.
Kirkham, who was once given a three-month suspended sentence for biting a police officer, operated Platinum Financial Services International – reputable sounding institution if ever there was one – along with Wood. The company is now closed, but the website lingers. Kirkham is in a cell at the Economic Crimes Division.
The Thais are not his first victims, but clearly, they were the most efficient in making their complaints heard. Foreigners really need to avoid local “independent financial advisors.” It’s easy to zoom call home and talk to the man from the Pru, or whoever else has some kind of reputation and watchdog approval.
