A human rights lawyer representing victims of an alleged cryptocurrency pyramid scheme in Thailand is taking their case to the country’s Department of Special Investigation (DSI).
Thai Officials to Investigate Alleged #Cryptocurrency Pyramid Schemehttps://t.co/uqmA9oQ8cAhttps://t.co/TSWeqS6lJy — CN 🚀📫💡 (@_cryptoNole) January 16, 2020
On January 16, it has been reported by the Bangkok Post that roughly 20 victims, whose losses are alleged to total 75 million baht (~$2.5 million), are seeking to go beyond the investigations of local police in Thailand’s Krabi province given the gravity of the case.
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However, the DSI, a department of the Thai Ministry of Justice, works independently of the Thai Royal Police force and is tasked with the investigation of “special cases,” such as those involving organized criminal networks or cases tied to national security threats.
According to the report, the alleged pyramid scheme, dubbed “Khung Nong Cryptocurrency Trading,” operated in Krabi province in 2018. Promising returns of as high as 8% weekly, locals in the towns of Krabi, Trang, Yala, Pattani, and Narathiwat are reported to have sold off assets including private land, cars, and motorcycles to raise the money for their investments.
It has been analyzed that between October 2018 and February 2018, the scheme drew in more victims, until its operator abruptly stopped paying out dividends.
Likewise, Noopad Wachedi, an investor, said that she had sold her land to raise the money needed to invest, and the check is given to her by Khung Nong Cryptocurrency Trading’s operators subsequently bounced.
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Noopad also claimed that her recruiter had alleged her investment, which was being overseen by state officers; another victim, her relative, also alluded to a series of alleged tricks used to deceive investors.
Earlier, in 2019, it has been reported that Bangkok police had arrested a 48-year old man who had styled himself the “cryptocurrency wizard” over his alleged role in a 500 million baht ($16.3 million) crypto exchange fraud.
Thus, the previous year, Jiratpisit Jaravijit, the Thai soap-opera star, was arrested for his alleged role in 797 million baht ($24.6 million) Bitcoin (BTC) investment heist, which he purportedly operated together with his siblings.
Source: bangkokpost.com | cointelegraph.com