Crypto fraud victims to get B125m after big bust

Crypto fraud victims to get B125m after big bust

After halting two virtual gaming networks, police discover connection to a crypto scheme.

Crypto fraud victims to get B125m after big bust
During a press conference held on Tuesday at the officers Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB ) offices, cash seized from two main gambling sites is displayed. ( Photo supplied/Wassayos Ngamkham )

According to the police, the property recovered from two playing platforms were linked to a crypto fraud scheme and will be returned to the victims of the fraud.

Ufabet-JC and plat were raided by cybercrime investigators from the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB ). beer777 — and seized 117 million ringgit in dollars and luxury cars for about 8 million baht late last month.

Several suspects involved in the running the sites were arrested, Pol Lt Gen Worawat Watnakhonbancha, director of the CCIB, said during a press briefing on Tuesday.

Representatives from the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, the Anti-Money Laundering Office ( Amlo ), and other related organizations also took part.

Five people alleged that they had been duped into investing in a phony bitcoin system that resulted in costs of 527 million ringgit while the CCIB was looking into the gambling activities.

According to Pol Lt. Gen. Worawat, researchers found a link between the bitcoin fraud’s perpetrators and the two gambling sites.

Kanniphit, one of the suspects arrested, was tasked with laundering cash for international crime gangs, and he also laundered funds for the crypto fraud system, said the CCIB key. He did not specify the suspect’s nickname.

According to authorities, some of the property seized from the gaming websites were taken from crypto-fraud victims. They think the network’s origins lie in a neighboring nation that they did not know.

23 suspects were subject to warrants for colluding with the public, inputting false information into a computer program, and laundered funds as part of the lengthy investigation. All were arrested, said Pol Lt Gen Worawat.

The Amlo has received a report from the CCIB regarding the property spasms. According to Pol Lt. Gen. Worawat, the seized goods worth 125 million baht had been returned to the victims of fraud.

Officials were examining the seized goods before publishing a observe in the Royal Gazette about the transfer of property to the fraud victims, according to Watthaya Neetham, chairman of the Amlo legitimate section.

Many people who have been victims of defraudulent crypto investments have reported to the authorities in recent years, according to Sutthikiart Veerakitpanit, an advisor to the minister of the modern economy and society.

Authorities may speed up the process to gain seized resources to victims in order to help them, he said.

During a media briefing on Tuesday, Pol Lt. Gen. Worawat Watnakhonbancha ( right ), the head of the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB ), and representatives from other agencies announced the seizure of assets from two major gambling websites linked to cryptocurrency fraud. ( Photo supplied/Wassayos Ngamkham )