BANGKOK — Thai police, in cooperation with Vietnamese authorities, have arrested a Vietnamese woman allegedly behind a $300 million USD forex stock fraud scheme, along with two male accomplices of the same nationality, at a hotel in central Bangkok on Saturday.
The arrest was led by Pol. Lt. Gen. Witthaya Sriprasertpap, Commander of the Crime Suppression Division, who apprehended Miss Ngo, 30, Mr. Ta, 38, and Mr. Trong, 41, all Vietnamese nationals, at their hotel room in Khlong Tan Nuea Subdistrict, Watthana District.
Miss Ngo has been wanted under an Interpol red notice since December 10, 2024, on charges of misprision, while Mr. Ta and Mr. Trong were arrested for being foreign nationals who entered and remained in the Kingdom after their permits had expired.
Vietnamese authorities had previously contacted Thai officials requesting assistance in investigating and tracking down members of an investment trading scam network, which was part of a major criminal organization that defrauded Vietnamese citizens into joint investments.
The modus operandi of the Vietnamese network resembles fraud groups in Thailand – creating websites advertising investment opportunities in stock trading through Forex or cryptocurrency platforms, promising abnormally high returns of 20-30% per month, with victims transferring money into designated accounts.
Their advertising strategy involved using Vietnamese public figures and influencers to build credibility and attract interest, such as organizing seminars inviting people to hear investment plans, claiming zero risk and quick returns, with the ability to recruit others for commission payments in a pyramid-like structure.
Once victims were hooked, transactions would proceed through stock market-like operations. The scam involved allowing victims to trade stocks with small amounts initially and actually withdraw money to build confidence, then gradually encouraging larger investments using unrealistic profit-sharing structures to entice victims. When victims believed and invested larger sums, the criminals would immediately cut all contact.
Miss Ngo’s operation victimized more than 2,600 people with damages totaling approximately $300 million USD. Investigations revealed the gang was led by a Turkish national working with 35 Vietnamese accomplices in a well-organized criminal enterprise with clear role divisions, employing over 1,000 staff and operating from more than 44 fraud centers across the country, including Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hoi An, and other major cities, as well as locations in other countries such as Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Vietnamese Metropolitan Police investigated until they identified Ngo as a key suspect in this network, then coordinated with Interpol to issue an arrest warrant. Upon learning she had fled to Thailand, they contacted Thailand’s Crime Suppression Division, which deployed teams to track her down to a hotel in the Khlong Tan area, leading to the raid on May 24.
They found Miss Ngo residing there with two Vietnamese men claiming to be her bodyguards, though none had proper permits to stay in the country.
Miss Ngo confessed to participating in the crimes. Regarding assets obtained from the fraud, she stated the operation’s leader managed everything, with her receiving a portion that she laundered through real estate businesses in Vietnam.
For expenses in Thailand, she had her associates transfer money from nominee accounts in Vietnam to Vietnamese accounts in Thailand to avoid detection, converting approximately 1 million baht at a time into Thai currency. Authorities are holding Miss Ngo for detailed interrogation before proceeding with extradition to Vietnamese authorities.
__________
