Thai police arrest mastermind behind $14 million crypto Ponzi scheme

Thai authorities have arrested a Chinese national in Bangkok suspected of running a huge cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme. The individual is alleged to have scammed nearly 100 victims out of more than 100 million yuan (roughly $14 million) in the mainland.

Police officers apprehended Liang Ai-Bing on Thursday at a luxury three-story home office in an upscale housing estate in Wang Thonglang district. The suspect is believed to have been living alone since December 2024, paying a monthly rent of 150,000 baht ($4,645).

Thai police charge Liang with illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition

The police officers executed a criminal court search warrant on the suspect’s home after receiving intelligence from both Thai and Chinese authorities. The investigation also includes four other accomplices: Al Qing-Hua, Wu Jiang-Yan, Tang Zhen-Que, and Zuo Lai-Jun. 

According to a local media report, Liang and Tang were in charge of developing the platform, while Al and Wu were responsible for public relations and promotion, and Zuo took care of marketing operations. Chinese authorities revealed that all five suspects fled the country except Zuo, who was later arrested and released on bail pending trial.

Police 191 found an unlicensed Beretta pistol and 20 rounds of ammunition during the raid of Liang’s residence. The authorities also charged him with legal possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Liang was also charged with illegal entry into Thailand as a foreign national. Thai authorities said they are collaborating with their Chinese counterparts to extradite Liang to face trial in China.

Chinese authorities revealed that the group created a fraudulent crypto investment platform called FINTOCH between December 2022 and May 2023. The suspects are alleged to have promoted the fake platform via mobile applications to lure investors.

The crypto sleuth also found that FINTOCH’s website lists Bobby Lambert as the CEO, when in reality, he doesn’t exist and is merely a paid actor. ZachXBT also noted that the Singapore government had previously warned about the investment scheme. 

Crypto fraud scheme targets people without financial literacy

FINTOCH had falsely claimed to be tied to Morgan Stanley, but the investment bank denied any association with the project. The financial institution confirmed that it doesn’t send unsolicited investment offers via email, doesn’t conduct business over social media or mobile applications, and doesn’t directly trade in any digital asset products on behalf of clients.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore also warned in May 2023 that the FINTOCH  founders had netted over $31 million in user funds before the platform collapsed. The agency also confirmed that the platform was not affiliated with MariBank Singapore Private Limited.

ZachXBT argued that such investment fraud schemes often target people in communities that lack financial literacy. He also urged victims of the scam to report it to law enforcement in their country, but warned that it was unlikely for victims to recover their funds in such cases fully.

A report by bug bounty platform Immunefi revealed that the platform’s Ponzi scheme was one of two major incidents that contributed to a 63% surge in crypto losses in Q2 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. The case reflects the ongoing cases of crypto fraud schemes such as pig butchering.

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