KOH PHANGAN – Police officers from the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) investigated the website en-samui.bitmoneyekb, which advertised the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies for various currencies. The website offered its services in the districts of Koh Samui and Koh Phangan in Surat Thani province.
The website contained information on how to contact us by phone and via the WhatsApp application. The phone number used for contacting was linked to a bank account in the name of Mr. Ibragim Gaitukiev. Another account was found under the name of Mr. Maksim Variukhin, who also used some of the same phone numbers and accounts.
Further investigation revealed that Maksim and Ibragim were directors or owners of OM 118 Co, Ltd. located at 9/11 Moo 8, Srithanu Beach, Koh Phangan District, Surat Thani Province. A business called Plantasia Cannabis Collective is located there. The store had a “Bitcoins” sign on the front.
The authorities suspected that this cannabis store also functioned as an exchange for the purchase and sale of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, as stated on the website and in the store. Therefore, on 4 April 2024, the police applied for a search warrant to inspect and search the house. Mr. Thanach Srikaew claimed to be the owner of the location, while Maksim and Ibragim claimed to be the owner and operator of the store.
The search did not find anything illegal, but it did find a sign at the cannabis counter inside the shop inviting customers to exchange and buy and sell cryptocurrencies. The two Russians admitted that they were running this business without a license.
The authorities took the two men and the relevant evidence to the Koh Phangan police station to prosecute them for the following charges: “jointly operating a digital asset business (trader) without a license and as foreigners jointly operating a business (service) where Thais are unwilling to compete with foreigners”
It was noted that the arrests took place along with several other similar cases in Phuket and Chonburi provinces. This came after the Prime Minister instructed the Cyber Police and the Ministry of Digital Economy to speed up the suppression of online crime and show clear results within 30 days.
