Ten more suspects have been arrested for alleged involvement in a Ponzi scheme that lured victims into investing about 130 million baht in a holding company that promised high returns. That raised the number of suspects in the case to 39.
Pol Maj Gen Surachate Hakparn, deputy commissioner of the Tourist Police Bureau, told a press conference at the Economic Crime Suppression Division on Monday that the ten were among 16 people facing newly-issued arrest warrants following complaints from numerous victims early last month.
According to the deputy commissioner, the suspects used social media to lure victims into buying shares of a company they referred to as OD Capital Co, claiming that its share price would soar three-fold after being listed and offering 5-10% monthly yields for 24-30 months. In fact, the company was not registered in Thailand.
Earlier, police arrested 29 suspects in the same case. Nine suspects were still at large.
The suspects were charged with public fraud and money-laundering, Pol Maj Gen Surachate said, adding that their assets were being impounded for repayment to victims.
In the press conference, DJ Nawaporn Taotong, 37, one of the alleged victims, said a man named Saharat Wayrote, 34, had courted her via Facebook, and established a relationship with her. Later, the man invited her to invest in OD Capital, claiming that she would obtain a 100% return in a month. She invested 200,000 baht.
When the payment never arrived, she said, she realised she had been duped. The man had done the same thing with many other women, Miss Nawaporn said. Mr Saharat was among the arrested suspects.