BOT warns public against unlicensed forex trading as Ponzi scheme unravels
Foreign exchange traders who operate without a licence are breaking the law, the Bank of Thailand (BOT) warned on Tuesday.
The warning comes after the Department of Special Investigation laid charges over the Forex-3D scheme, which allegedly defrauded almost 2.5 billion baht from thousands of victims.
Last week, celebrity couple Pattanapon “DJ Man” Minthakhin and his wife Suteewan “Baitoey" Thaweesin became the latest suspects to be charged in connection with the scheme. Forex-3D’s owner, Apiruk Kothi, is accused of multibillion-baht fraud.
On Tuesday, BOT’s assistant governor of Financial Markets Operations said Forex-3D did not have a Finance Ministry licence to trade in foreign exchange, as required by law. Alisara Mahasandana said the ministry never issues licenses to individual forex speculators who trade on their platforms or websites.
The Forex 3-D operators therefore face charges of fraudulent borrowing, she added.
The Department of Special Investigation last Wednesday charged Pattanapon and Suteewan with violating the emergency decree on fraudulent borrowing, committing criminal fraud, and uploading false information to computer systems in violation of the Computer Crime Act. Last month, actress Savika, "Pinky" Chaiyadet, 36, and two family members were denied bail on charges of operating the forex Ponzi scheme.
Alisara said that although the charges were not under the BOT’s jurisdiction, the bank would cooperate with the probe by the Department of Special Investigation and other agencies.
The DSI says the Ponzi scheme, operated via the www.forex-3D.com website and three Facebook pages, has defrauded 9,824 people out of an estimated 2.48 billion baht since 2019.
Alisara said the BOT regularly warns the public to beware of anyone who promises high yields from forex trading, saying they could fall victim to pyramid schemes.
