Benzinga - Thailand’s Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) arrested five foreign nationals, four Chinese and one from Laos, for organizing a fraud cryptocurrency investment platform in the country that bilked more than 3,200 locals out of more than $27 million.
The charges on the accused were transnational crime, public fraud and money laundering. The Office of the Attorney General in Thailand moved to prosecute the suspects in August 2022, before the CCIB's anti-money laundering office seized ฿585 million (Thai baht) worth of personal property from the accused, according to a CoinTelegraph report.
U.S. Homeland Security investigations and other international law enforcement agencies assisted the CCIB in carrying on the investigation which was initiated after investors claimed publicly in 2022 that they lost investments made through bchgloballtd.com.
See Also: Does Banning Crypto Solve Anything? IMF Addresses How To Navigate Macro Challenges. Meet and engage with transformative Fintech business leaders and investors at Benzinga's exclusive event, Fintech Deal Day. Tickets are going fast: Get yours!
In January 2023, Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission issued new requirements for virtual asset service providers for higher investor protection and protection of their funds held by custodians.
Industry With Many Frauds: On similar lines, MetaMask users were also duped with a government-owned website URL for tracking victims and accessing their crypto wallet holdings. Also, last week Thodez cryptocurrency exchange founder Faruk Fatih Ozer was sentenced to 11,196 years in jail for charges of aggravated fraud, money laundering and heading a criminal group.
Separately, Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky’s assets were frozen due to criminal investigations related to securities fraud and alleged manipulation of the company's CEL token.
Read More: Crypto Exchange Founder Gets One Of History's Longest Jail Sentences — 11,196 Years Behind Bars
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