3 held over currency scam

A selfie of a Thai woman and a man, believed to be Turkish. They are thought to be key suspects in the forex scam.

Three suspects have been arrested in connection with a foreign currency scam, in which more than 2,000 people have been allegedly conned out of more than 200 million baht.

The suspects were named as Ariya Thaumthong, Sumarin Suwannathep and Suni Praditdi, Tourist Police Bureau deputy chief, Pol Maj Gen Surachate Hakparn told a press conference yesterday to announce the arrests.

They were charged with fraud, the deputy chief said, adding that all three were detained following an investigation launched after police received complaints from more than 50 people, who claimed they were duped into investing in an online forex trading scam.

Victims said they were lured into investing with the promise of an exceptionally high rate of return of between 1.5% and 2% per day, or at least 45% per month, Pol Maj Gen Surachate said.

However, the victims were not allowed to withdraw their money until they had fulfilled an important condition, which was to keep their money in the investment plan for at least a month, he said.

Before they could take their money out, the forex firm's website shut down, preventing them from doing so. Also, the investors were unable to contact the firm, the deputy tourist police chief said.

An investigation found that Jureeporn Rungruang and her Turkish husband, identified as Halil Serkae Turkman, operated the scam and are now on the run, according to Pol Maj Gen Surachate.

Two of the firm's executives detained by police have denied any wrongdoing, Pol Maj Surachate said. One is reported to be Ms Jureeporn's mother.