On-job connection: Thai telecom firm cut off in fraud scandal
Thailand’s telecom watchdog has reportedly pulled the plug on K4 Communication Company Ltd, revoking its licence over a multi-million-baht fraud scandal that allegedly left investors high and dry.
K4, which operated as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) using National Telecom’s (NT) network, was shut down after its executives were hit with arrest warrants for joint fraud, Bangkok Post reported.
Trairat Viriyasirikul, acting Secretary General of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), confirmed the decision, saying K4 had duped people into investing in its so-called “top-up kiosks”—which officials now suspect was just a Ponzi scheme in disguise.
The company, which ran the “K4” SIM card brand and “Katie Pansuk” top-up kiosks, lured investors via a LINE chat group in early 2023, promising big returns for a 50,000-baht buy-in. Some investors received returns, but many never even got the kiosks they had paid for.
Complaints started piling up late last year, and by March 5, the Central Investigation Bureau had arrested K4’s directors, seizing more than 400 assets worth over 50 million baht. A total of 74 victims have come forward so far, claiming losses of 29 million baht.
The NBTC said the asset seizure made K4 ineligible to hold a telecom licence under Thai regulations, which require operators to be free from fraud charges or financial seizures.
NT has been ordered to step in and provide mobile services for K4’s 46,000 SIM card users, ensuring they’re not left stranded. Meanwhile, the NBTC has reiterated that it has never granted licences for top-up kiosks and does not regulate the business.
It’s a hard lesson for those caught up in the scheme—proof that if an investment deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
In other Thai regulator news, a high-ranking member of the NBTC was sentenced to two years in prison last month for abusing her position in a controversial case involving the OTT media platform TrueID.
The Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases ruled that Professor Pirongrong Ramasoota was guilty of malfeasance in office, having unfairly targeted TrueID and causing financial damage to its parent company, True Digital Group.
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