Company bearing name similar to Thai agribusiness giant took orders that were never filled, say police
PUBLISHED : 30 Nov 2024 at 17:51
A Cameroonian man and a Thai woman have been arrested for operating a company that deceived buyers into thinking it was affiliated with a major agribusiness company, resulting in more than 3.5 million baht in damages, police say.
Police from the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) executed a warrant on Saturday to arrest Etienne Kukwa, 35, and a 36-year-old Kanchanaburi native, identified only as Wipaporn, on charges of defrauding the public and entering fraudulent information into a computer system.
Authorities were acting on reports filed by Thai and Malaysian import-export businesses, which claimed the duo had set up a company named CP Processing to mislead clients into believing it was connected to the well-known Thai conglomerate with a similar name. The real CP is authorised to export raw livestock to Malaysia.
The suspects managed to secure orders for raw chicken worth 3.58 million baht, but the orders were never delivered.
Complainants indicated that the duo’s actions not only caused financial losses but also harmed the reputation of the original company.
Ms Wipaporn was listed as the president of the fraudulent enterprise and was found to have made transfers to Mr Kukwa.
The woman was apprehended in Wang Thong Lang district of Bangkok, while the Cameroon national was apprehended in Bang Phongphang in Yan Nawa district.
Authorities seized 70,500 baht in cash, 14 bank passbooks, two passports, 11 communication devices and 17 credit cards. Bank accounts containing 2 million baht have also been frozen.
Both suspects have denied the charges, but police claim to have strong evidence and will pursue legal action.