Thailand Authorities Arrest Mastermind of Forex-3D Ponzi Scheme

The mastermind of a Forex-3D ponzi scheme Apiruk Kothi has been arrested at a condominium in the Thong Lor area by the police in Thailand after more than a year on the run.

Further, the investigators also seized several items, including several land ownership documents, gold jewelry, luxury watches and bags, and a blue Lamborghini that has been repainted orange.

In December 2019, the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has reported that the scheme defrauded over 8,400 documented victims and the estimated damages totaled around 2 billion baht (over $66 million).

Apiruk Kothi fled Thailand after the scam was exposed. Before returning to Thailand in October last year via Cambodia, Kothi hid mainly in Singapore and Malaysia and never stayed in one place for long. He had been living at the condominium where he was apprehended for less than two months.

To pay back the victims, the DSI and the Anti-Money Laundering Office have confiscated assets worth around 1 billion baht from Kothi and seized a 27-million-baht Aston Martin Vanquish, which had been stashed in Ratchaburi, from his wife.