According to The Bangkok Post, a lawyer specialized in human rights representing some victims of a Thailand supposed cryptocurrency pyramid scheme took the case to the DSI (Department of Special Investigation). Allegedly, 16 victims of the scheme lost around $2.5 million and want the case to be properly investigated.
The DSI is separate from the Thailand Royal Police force and is a Ministry of Justice department. It is officially tasked to investigate special cases, like those that involve cases with national security implications and criminal networks.
The name of the supposed pyramid scheme is “Khung Nong Cryptocurrency Trading” and it operated in 2018 in Krabi. It seems like the issuers promised 8% weekly returns for locals in Trang, Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala and Krabi. Reports show that people even sold off some of their assets, like motorcycles, cars and private land in order to make investments.
Noopad Wachedi, one of the affected investors, declared that she sold land in order to get the money needed. Then, the checks that were given by the Khung Nong Cryptocurrency Trading company ended up bouncing. The recruiter that led her to the program said that the investment was overseen by officers of the state. A relative of Wachedi was also a victim and said different tricks were used in order to deceive targeted investors. Illegal operations related to cryptocurrencies in Thailand seem to have multiplied in the past year. During the autumn of 2019, the police in Bangkok arrested a man that was involved in a crypto exchange fraud of $16.3 million. In 2018 we also saw Jiratpisit Jaravijit, a well-known Thai soap opera star arrested for a role in a $24.6 million investment heist in BTC, a heist that was operated with a sibling.