Thailand extradites Malaysian fugitive to China over $14bn cryptocurrency scam

Zhang is the first person that Bangkok has extradited to China as a result of financial crime since the 1999 convention became law.

Tedy Teow is the first suspect in an economic crime that Thailand has turned over to China since an extradition treaty between the two countries took effect 25 years ago. (Photo: CCTV)
Tedy Teow is the first person to be detained in Thailand’s financial violence since a 25-year-old abduction agreement between the two nations was signed. ( Photo: CCTV )

In a case involving more than 100 billion yuan ( US$ 14 billion ), a Malaysian businessman who is accused of leading a fraud syndicate has been deported from Thailand to China.

According to the Chinese people security department on Friday, he is the first believe in an economic violence that Bangkok has turned over to China since a 1999 extradition treaty was signed.

The successful abduction is” a landmark achievement for the consolidation and expansion of law enforcement and criminal cooperation between China and Thailand,” the government said in the release.

The government said the believe was sent to China on Tuesday and only gave the boy’s title: Zhang. Tedy Teow Wooi Huat, the creator of the company company MBI Group, was the subject of this ode.

Following an investigation, Teow is suspected of running a pyramid scheme and defrauding individuals, many of them thought to be Foreign citizens, out of cash by tricking them into purchasing MBI’s unregistered and unrecognised bitcoin.

More than 10 million traders have fallen victim to the system since 2012, and the funds involved was for over 100 billion Chinese renminbi, according to the agency’s speech.

Later in the year 2020, Teow’s case was opened by authorities in Chongqing, south of China, and a global wanted list was released by the International Criminal Police Organization’s China commission.

Thai authorities arrested the business in July 2022 after he fled Malaysia. In response to that, Beijing sent a plea to Bangkok asking for him to be deported so that he could be tried in China.

In May, a Thai judge rendered a final decision transferring Teow to China, which the Thai government after supported.

Kuala Lumpur had likewise sought Teow’s imprisonment to Malaysia, where he is even wanted for fraud. However, China’s plea was later made.

In October 2019, about 100 Taiwanese citizens staged a demonstration outside Beijing’s ambassador in Malaysia, claiming they had lost their life savings to the company, and MBI Group, which describes itself as having “diversified passions in tools and management advances.”

The Taiwanese government has described Teow’s case as “extraordinary” and anticipates that China’s involvement in repatriation efforts will be “positive examples” in the future.

Wang Yi, the country’s top minister, met with counterparts from Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar last week at the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation ( LMC) website in the Thai town of Chiang Mai, calling for more international cooperation to fight cross-border crimes in the region, particularly online gambling and telecoms scams.

Wang claimed that since last year, the four countries have collaborated extensively and detained more than 50 000 suspects in playing and fraud cases.

During the meeting, the foreign ministries of all six nations participating in the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Mechanism, which furthermore includes Vietnam and Cambodia, released a joint declaration urging greater participation in preventing international offense.

We are “deeply concerned about the weight and severity of the consistent and escalating challenges posed by transnational offences,” the statement said.

We urge member countries to prioritize assistance in the fight against drug smuggling, as well as stopping telecommunication/online frauds and all forms of gambling, and encouraging participation across borders.