Two Chinese men have been arrested on suspicion of duping victims into fake investments worth more than 2 billion baht.
Pol Maj Gen Somboon Thiankhao, commander of the 191 Patrol and Special Operation Division, yesterday told a press briefing that the pair, identified as Chen Yirong, 34, and Lin Bin, 20, were arrested following a slew of complaints in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. More than 1,000 victims were allegedly deceived using a fake version of a popular online shopping application.
Investors would be encouraged to increase their stake in the scheme after an initial payout, before being fleeced of their next payment on the app.
A clue later led police to the whereabouts of the suspects at a condominium in the Ram Intra area of Bangkok.
Pol Maj Gen Somboon said the pair were assigned to supervise the transaction system for the online fraud gang. The pair would transfer the money of the victims to bank accounts registered by Thai collaborators.
Police confiscated four computers, 10 mobile phones and 57 passbooks with ATM cards and mobile phone SIM cards. About 2 billion baht in transactions had also been recorded, of which 1.4 billion baht had been transferred to other bank accounts, and the remainder invested in cryptocurrencies.
Pol Maj Gen Somboon said the pair told police that they entered Thailand to work in the financial services sector on a monthly salary of 30,000 baht each. They denied the accusation that they deceived others.
The pair face two charges of misusing electronic payments and working without a work permit.
The pair and all items seized were later taken to Khok Kram police as the investigation was widened to track down their accomplices, he added.
