Thai man linked to major fraud case arrested in Bangkok

Bangkok police apprehended a 57 year old Thai man linked to a sizeable fraud case going back almost ten years. Raveeroj Rithchoteanan, had been previously incarcerated in Angola for his involvement in a significant fraud scheme.

The arrest took place on Sunday at a hotel in Wang Thonglang district, with Raveeroj accused of swindling a businessman out of 22 million baht under the pretence of a non-existent gem project.

Raveeroj reportedly convinced the businessman he was an emissary for an investment group boasting a 200 billion baht portfolio back in 2015, explained Major General Montree Theskhan, the Crime Suppression Division commander. The group was allegedly preparing for a substantial gem project, promising a 1 billion baht return to the businessman if he co-invested.

To convince the businessman, Raveeroj produced a fraudulent guarantee from HSBC and took him on a tour of Myanmar and the Philippines as a demonstration of the project’s legitimacy. Police reports indicate that Raveeroj persuaded the businessman to pay initial fees, resulting in an initial transfer of 10 million baht, followed by seven additional payments which totalled 22.48 million baht.

However, Raveeroj vanished when the businessman requested the promised return on his investment. According to the police, Raveeroj fled Thailand in 2017. Subsequently, he was captured in Angola and received a seven-year and six-month prison sentence for presenting a counterfeit cheque of about US$50 billion to support a sham infrastructure project he proposed to the Angolan government. His three accomplices were sentenced to three years in prison.

Raveeroj surreptitiously re-entered Thailand in June last year. Upon his return, he allegedly started to coax a group of politicians into funding a fictitious high-speed railway project. He promised a commission of 5 to 10 million baht. Major General Montree disclosed that Raveeroj was arrested at the hotel where he scheduled a meeting with the politicians, reported Bangkok Post.