Final suspect in Thai counterfeit bond scam apprehended by OIG

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) apprehended the final suspect involved in a counterfeit bond scheme. The gang collaborated with fraudulent money-lenders to deceive prominent owners of guesthouse businesses, by soliciting payment for the approval of large loans. This culminated in the arrest of 64 year old man yesterday under the charge of currency counterfeiting.

The arrested individual, Thanakrit, is accused of conniving with three other individuals identified only by their first names – Hongyok, Santinan, and Napat. The accomplices managed to convincingly orchestrate a plot against Thanakrit to gain his trust.

Once aware that Thanakrit needed capital for renovating his guesthouse, they assured him that they had connections with a group of investors who could lend large sums of money. The only condition is a pre-emptive service fee needed to be paid to this investor group. A contract negotiation was scheduled at a hotel near Vibhavadi Rangsit Road in Bangkok.

During the meeting, these fraudsters displayed government bonds worth 600 million baht (US$17,584,992) to evince their financial credibility. Tricked by this charade, the victim agreed to transfer 840,000 baht (US$24,619) as a service fee. Post transaction, the victim failed to secure the agreed-upon loan. Suspecting foul play, he decided to verify the government bond numbers with Thailand’s central bank, only to discover they were forged, reported KhaoSod.

All these accusations were carefully manipulated to deceive the victim, who then reported the case to the OIG. This led to the arrest of three accomplices, followed by the recent apprehension of the main suspect, Thanakrit. During the investigation, Thanakrit denied all charges against him and was forwarded to the 4th Investigation Division of the OIG for further proceedings.

In 2019, counterfeit US dollar banknotes valued at more than 16 million baht have been seized at a Chiang Rai house after police organised a sting.

A 54 year old woman was arrested over the matter last Thursday. The sting followed a tip off to border patrol police about the fake US dollar notes being circulated tambon Rim Kok. To read more click HERE