A 32-year-old Singaporean man was arrested in Thailand on suspicion of cryptocurrency fraud, with the case involving over 880,000 Singapore dollars. The 32-year-old Singaporean, surnamed Wang, is suspected of participating in cryptocurrency fraud activities and was recently arrested in Thailand. Thai police arrested 13 people in the operation, with the fraud activities involving more than 22.4 million Thai baht, approximately 885,585 Singapore dollars.
Mr. Wang, a Singaporean, is suspected of participating in a local criminal gang that developed a counterfeit application, masquerading as the Tidex cryptocurrency trading platform, to defraud investors.
The criminal gang promised high investment returns through the counterfeit application, luring victims to transfer money. According to the investigation by the Bangkok Anti-Cyber Fraud Operation Center, the scam has defrauded multiple victims of their funds, with at least 17 transfers made, but no real investments were conducted.
Thai police arrested 13 members of an international criminal gang, and Thailand's Central Investigation Bureau stated that the police conducted an enforcement operation named "Lock Star Season 2" in Bangkok, Chiang Rai, Rayong, and Phuket, arresting 13 members of the international criminal gang.
The arrested individuals include two suspected leaders, a 29-year-old Chinese woman surnamed Wang and a 38-year-old Thai man, along with other suspects including the aforementioned Singaporean man and a Vietnamese man, who are suspected of converting cryptocurrency assets into Thai baht or providing bank accounts for the fraud activities.
The arrested Singaporean Mr. Wang played a crucial role in the gang, suspected of opening cryptocurrency accounts to hold ill-gotten gains from victims. The police indicated that the arrested gang is associated with the 'Lock Star' organization, which is linked to the "Lock Star" scam gang dismantled by Thai police in mid-year.
The Thai police stated that the criminal gang busted this time is associated with a scam organization named "Lock Star," which was involved in telecommunications fraud activities. In July this year, six members of the "Lock Star" gang were arrested, charged with illegal assembly, participation in an international criminal organization, and conspiracy to launder money.
In summary, Thai police arrested a total of 19 suspects in two operations, including three Chinese, one Vietnamese, one Singaporean, and 14 Thais. Thai police also seized a mansion, two luxury cars, four land title deeds, etc., with a total value of over 14 million Thai baht, approximately 552,743 Singapore dollars.
