Twenty local and foreign investors yesterday lodged a complaint with the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) against a condominium developer who they claimed duped them into buying units in Chiang Mai that were never finished.
One alleged victim said he bought a unit in 2019 after the developer said he would be able to cover the cost of the purchase by renting it out to foreign tourists, which the developer would help arrange.
Most of the victims, he said, paid around three million baht per unit, but some have lost over 75 million baht.
Several owners made some profit for some time, but it ended right around the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, he added.
He found out later that construction on some of the units had been suspended for some time. He then reached out to other owners, only to find out many were facing similar issues.
Several even took their case to court and won, but received no compensation, he said.
The head of the DSI's Special Case Management Centre, Pol Maj Woranan Srilum, said a number of individuals had also filed similar complaints against the condominium developer late last year.
As such, authorities will treat them as a single case, he said.
Back in 2013, the developer sold units from 18 projects, most of which were located in Chiang Mai and Krabi, through property fairs in Bangkok and Chiang Mai.
Six of the projects have been finished, two projects are nearing completion, while construction has yet to begin or only just started on the rest of the projects.
Armando Noqueira, from Portugal, said he spent 7.8 million baht on two units in Chiang Mai and one in Krabi in 2019, but the units remain unfinished to this date.
The developer had promised a return of 8% a year in rent before he attempted to get his money back.