Friday 29 Mar 2024
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Ufun Store, a direct marketing company allegedly set up by Malaysians, came under more pressure in Thailand when the country’s Anti-Money Laundering office (AMLO) seized about 226 million baht (RM24.4 million) in cash and assets from two of the company’s executives.

According to the Bangkok Post online news today, this was the latest action taken by the AMLO after it made further confiscations yesterday (April 29). The news portal said the pair were accused of running an online transnational Ponzi scheme.

It added that 26.2 million baht in cash and gold worth about 1.4 million baht were confiscated from a safe owned by one of the suspects, Rattawit Titiarunwat.

Thai police, who earlier said Malaysians had initiated the scam, are hunting one Thai and three Malaysians behind the scheme. A total of 120,000 people are said to have been affected by the scam, with total losses amounting to 38 billion baht.

AMLO Chief Police Colonel Sihanart Prayoonrat said yesterday that when combined with other assets previously confiscated, including houses and cars, the agency has now seized a total of 183 million baht from Rattawit.

AMLO officials have also seized the contents of a safe belonging to Apichanat Sankla, 40. These consist of expensive brand-name watches, gold and diamond jewellery, as well as title deeds and banknotes.

Sihanart said two expensive cars and a house were seized earlier, taking the total value of assets confiscated from Apichanat to 43 million baht.

The pair are now required to show AMLO how they acquired their assets within 90 days. Sihanart said any illegally acquired property will be auctioned and the sum raised distributed among the aggrieved parties.

Suwira Songmetta, assistant national police chief, said anyone caught helping the suspects to hide assets can be arrested for conspiracy to launder money. He added that Malaysian police have reported that many Malaysians had invested in the scheme.

Suriya Singhakamol, director of the Bureau of Technology and Cyber Crime, said Malaysians had initiated the scam and were among those facing arrest warrants.

Suwira says the police are hunting one Thai and three Malaysians believed to be the masterminds behind the scheme. Suriya said 20 Thai and foreign suspects were facing arrest warrants. They were key founders of the pyramid scheme and each of them had changed their names three to five times.

Suwira said about 120,000 people were affected by the Ufun Store scam, which allegedly operated a pyramid scheme using direct selling as a front. Losses are estimated at 38 billion baht.  Investigators found that Ufun has  three or four subsidiaries to expand its activities.

He urged victims to file complaints with the police, saying that any monies recovered will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. So far, about 110 people have filed complaints.

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