The Criminal Court on Wednesday approved the extradition of a Malaysian businessman to China where he is wanted for operating a pyramid scheme and swindling people out of money.
Tedy Teow Wooi Huat, or Xiao Zhang, 52, was arrested in July last year for alleged money laundering during a raid on MBI Group, a company in Sadao district of Songkhla near the Thai-Malaysian border.
The arrest was made following an expanded investigation into online gambling activities in Songkhla and Nakhon Si Thammarat provinces — found to be linked with Mr Teow’s activities.
In September, the Chinese government, via the Chinese embassy in Thailand, submitted a request seeking to have the suspect extradited to stand trial in China.
According to Chinese authorities, Mr Teow is wanted for running a pyramid scheme between 2009 and 2020 that tricked people into investing and cheated them out of their money. The offence carries a maximum jail term of five years or more if the crime is extremely serious.
In considering the extradition request, the court said the request is in line with the Thai-Chinese extradition treaty and the statute of limitations has not expired.
It said the charge the suspect faces is neither political nor military-related and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.
The court decided to grant the extradition of Mr Teow, but said the extradition must wait 30 days before it can proceed. However, if the suspect cannot be extradited within 90 days or by the extended deadline, the suspect must be released.
Mr Teow’s lawyer, Juti Suanraksa, said his client would file an appeal of the extradition order.
Malaysian authorities are also seeking Mr Teow’s extradition to stand trial in Malaysia where he is wanted for fraud. They submitted a request to Thai prosecutors early this month.