Phuket resort scam: British CEO arrested

PHUKET: The British chief executive officer of a Phuket resort company has been arrested on fraud charges for allegedly cheating customers out of millions of baht.

Mr Steven James Granville, 43, CEO of Puravarna Resort Co, was arrested at the company’s office in Rawai.

Crime Suppression Division police had received information from Mr Anand Kumar Sen, managing director of Tycoon Group Co, a Singaporean company which represented 19 customers who had paid for Puravarna Resort Project residences.

Mr Anand reported to police last May that mr Granville and Puravarna Resort Co had advertised the development project in newspapers and had held exhibitions around the world in places such as Singapore, Hong Kong, UK and Australia.

According to advertisements, the company had started construction on seventy 6 to15 million baht units near Rawai in 2005 due to be be finished in 2009.

However, when customers began to realize the construction would not be completed on time, they began to ask questions, said Mr Anand.

Customers complaints were met with explanations ranging from flooding problems and financial difficulties to political problems.

Mr Anand said that, in fact, the company had never been granted construction permits by Phuket Province.

He added that the victims, who feel they have been cheated, “are from many countries and include well know people such as the owner of the Singaporean Tiger Beer Company. This case is tarnishing the reputation of Thailand.”

Mr Granville has denied the charges against him and refused comment.

He remains in custody.

— The Nation