A couple who provided online foreign currency exchange courses have been arrested in the northern province of Chiang Rai for allegedly duping people into investing about 24 million baht in a fraudulent Forex investment scheme.
A combined team of officers from the Investigation Division of the Metropolitan Police Bureau (IDMP) and the Police Cyber Taskforce (PCT) arrested Kanok, 36, and his wife Thanyachanok, 37, in front of a house in tambon Tha Sai of Chiang Rai's Muang district on Wednesday, Pol Maj Gen Teeradet Thammasuthee, the IDMB commander, said on Thursday. The suspects' surnames were withheld.
The arrests followed numerous complaints by victims who claimed that Mr Kanok and his wife had posted video clips on social media, offering instruction on foreign exchange investment and speculation. The couple had provided online investment courses under the name "K1FX Trader Club", with the husband serving as a key instructor. Many individuals had applied to learn from them.
In August 2019, the club had made advertisements via LINE and Facebook that it had set up a fund company, guaranteeing a minimum monthly return of 5% on the principal with 100% capital protection. This attracted numerous victims to invest with the firm, resulting in over 24 million baht being invested before the firm was shut down.
Police launched the investigation that led to the arrest of the couple, both of whom are natives of Chiang Rai.
Ms Thanyachanok was wanted under an arrest warrant issued by the Nakhon Pathom Provincial Court on Aug 26 last year for colluding in public fraud, putting false information into a computer system and fraudulent borrowing. Mr Kanok was wanted under an arrest warrant issued by the same court on March 17 this year on the same charges, said Pol Maj Gen Teeradet.
During questioning, the woman denied all charges, claiming that her husband had used her bank account to receive money transfers from victims.
Mr Kanok confessed to all charges. He told investigators that he had previously worked as a civil servant and developed an interest in currency speculation. He subsequently resigned from the civil service to run a business related to Forex trading.
He said he had not intended to defraud the victims, but he had incurred losses from his own currency trading activities.
Ms Thanyachonok also had a criminal record and was wanted on another arrest warrant issued by the Thanyaburi Provincial Court issued on Aug 17, 2021, for fraud. She faced an arrest warrant for another offence in an area under the jurisdiction of Khu Khot police station, said Pol Maj Gen Teeradet.