Five people have reportedly been arrested in Thailand for allegedly fleecing millions of dollars from victims in a crypto and gold investment scheme.
According to a new report from the Bangkok Post, Thailand’s Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) says that four Chinese nationals and a Lao citizen have been arrested in connection with perpetrating a $76 million scheme.
CCBI spokesman Kissana Phathanacharoen said that 3,280 people fell victim to a scam involving a fake website that advertised crypto investing. According to him, people started coming forward in November 2022 claiming that they had been tricked into investing in gold and crypto assets, such as stablecoin Tether (USDT).
Five suspects were arrested in connection with the scheme for colluding to commit transnational crimes, money laundering, public fraud and putting false information into computer systems, though they were not identified specifically.
The report also says that on September 4th, authorities confiscated over $16 million worth of the suspects’ properties.
Pathanachoroen says that many of the victims invested their life savings into the scheme, while some even took out second mortgages on their houses or properties.
According to the report, many of the injured parties were approached by strangers or foreigners who invited them to invest through online platforms or mobile apps from other countries, promising them high returns in a short amount of time.
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