Victims of a forex trading scam have petitioned the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) after being cheated out of more than one billion baht by an illegal financial company.
They decided to invest the huge amount of money after the firm promised high returns from currency trades on the foreign exchange (forex) market and backed its claims with photos of celebrities and its participation in well-known financial events, said Samart Jenchaijitawanit, president of the Stop Money Game Association, as he led victims' representatives to the DSI on Wednesday.
"But a check found the pictures of Hong Kong actors posing with the firm's logo were doctored," Mr Samart said. The company, named by Mr Samart as "Share Forex", also displayed photos of its booth at a Money Expo. He did not go into more details of the expo or when it took place. It did take part in the event but later left after the Securities and Exchange Commission warned visitors against being fooled by unlicensed investors, Mr Samart said.
However, 2,400 people fell prey to the scam, with one victim losing up to 10 million baht. According to the victims' accounts, each of them had to pay a minimum of US$100, or around 3,850 baht, for a profit of 40 baht a day. The returns would go up if they paid more or introduced more people to the trade. "The petition matches criteria to treat it as a special case," Piyasiri Wattanavarangkul, the DSI's chief of Bureau of Illegal Financial Business Crime, said.