In Thailand, the main suspect of a bitcoin fraud that resulted in a Finnish investor losing 5,564 BTC (about $24 million at that time) was arrested.
According to Bangkok’s the Post, Prinya Jaravijit was detained on October 11 at Bangkok International airport Suvarnabhumi. The alleged mastermind of the fraudulent scheme lived in the United States, where he fled after the arrest of his younger brother, the famous TV actor Jiratpisit “Boom” Jaravijit, who was also involved in the scam.
Thailand’s Crime Suppression Division proposed Prinya Jaravijit, who was believed to be the brain force behind the scam, to voluntarily appear before September 17 and surrender. Since the suspect did not appear for the police interrogation at the request of the Crime Prevention Department, the country's Foreign Ministry revoked the passport of Prinya Jaravijit, making his stay in the U.S. illegal. The Thai Embassy in the United States organized the suspect’s flight back to Bangkok.
After his arrest, Prinya Jaravijit was taken to court, which detained him on suspicion of criminal fraud and money laundering.
Previously Aarni Otava Saarimaa, the Finnish investor who suffered from the scheme, withdrew his statements against two local businessmen who were also considered implicated in the fraud. After that, only members of the Jarawiyit family remain among the suspects in the case — two brothers have been arrested, and the younger sister and parents must go to court on Monday to respond to money laundering charges.
After this case of fraud, which received wide publicity in the media, the Bank of Thailand was forced to stand up in defense of cryptocurrency. The regulator explained that the fraudulent scheme was not directly related to digital assets.
Subscribe to our Telegram channel to stay up to date on the latest crypto and blockchain news.