Buying Luxury Apartments for Money Laundering: Transnational Investment Scam Ring Arrested in Thailand

Suspects involved in a transnational scam were recently arrested in Thailand. It is reported that the gang swindled 21 million baht from Mallika, a Thai woman, by cryptocurrency investment scam, and laundered more than 10 million baht through the purchase of a luxury condominium.

On October 29, Pol Maj Gen Phanthana Nutchanart, deputy director of Thailand's Immigration Department, revealed that the fraud gang had been operating since the end of 2023, and that they had colluded with some Thais to lure their victims to participate in stock and cryptocurrency trading.

They created a public Facebook page called “Investor Chat Room” and used it to promote high-yield investment opportunities.

After Mallika joined the chat room conversation, the scammers continued to communicate with her via Line and lured the victim into transferring funds to their bank accounts.

The scammers told her that the funds would remain in the portfolio for a certain period of time and that additional fees would be required to make leveraged trades. In order to gain the victim's trust, the scammers would occasionally pay her a small profit.

After investigation, the police found that this a well-organized criminal group. The con artists purchased a luxury condo in Bangkok using the ill-gottens, and planned to quickly sell the condo to someone else, thus laundering the funds.

In addition to Thais, Burmese and Cambodian investors were also targeted by the gang.

After collecting sufficient evidence, the police applied for an arrest warrant from the local court. The suspects are now facing several charges, including fraud.