A 27-year-old actor Jiratpisit "Boom" Jaravijit and his elder brother, Thanasit Jaravijit turned themselves in to the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) on Wednesday to acknowledge fraud charges in an alleged bitcoin scam.
Mr Jiratpisit and Mr Thanasit were questioned for two hours after they arrived at the CSD to answer the charges for allegedly swindling a Finnish investor and a Thai businesswoman out of 797 million baht worth of bitcoins.
Speaking later, Mr Jiratpisit denied any involvement in the alleged fraudulent investment scheme. He said he had no contact with the other elder brother, Mr Prinya who, according to police, was an alleged mastermind of the scam in which the cryptocurrency was used to buy stocks which the victims claimed they never received.
The CSD is expected to ask the court to approve a warrant for the arrest of Mr Prinya who reportedly fled to the US just as the scam came to public attention. He was summoned to report to the CSD on Wednesday but there was no sign of him.
The siblings' meeting with police came a day after two other Thai suspects -- well-known stock trader Prasit Srisuwan and Chakris Ahmad, a major shareholder of Expay Software Co -- reported to the CSD to acknowledge the fraud charges.
Finnish businessman Aarni Otava Saarimaa and Thai woman Chonnikan Kaeosali were reportedly negotiating with Mr Prasit and Mr Chakris to settle the charges.
CSD deputy commander Pol Col Chakrit Sawasdee said officers are seeking evidence to summon the actor's parents, Mr Suwit and Ms Lertchatkamol, on the charge of money laundering.
Early this week, the parents reported for questioning after police traced a sum of 90 million baht transferred to their accounts. They denied benefiting from the scheme.
