Malaysian police collaborating on UFUN investigation
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THAI AND Malaysian authorities will work together to investigate the alleged Ponzi scheme run by UFUN.
Fauzi Khan Ismail, a counsellor at the Malaysian Embassy in Bangkok, yesterday said the crackdown on the alleged scheme would be a priority in the cooperation between Thai and Malaysian police.
“Both sides will have joint meetings in Phuket between May 11 and 14, with UFUN being a key topic,” he said.
Fauzi yesterday met with a Thai police team, which was formed to deliver help to UFUN’s alleged victims. Also present at the meeting was assistant national police chief Lt-General Suwira Songmetta.
The meeting took place to facilitate the exchange of information about UFUN.
Suwira said Thai police had provided information on suspects to Malaysian police and asked for the neighbouring country’s help in arresting them.
645 complaints so far
“To date, 645 victims have come forward to lodge complaints against UFUN in Thailand. Their damages are estimated at Bt158 million,” he said.
Evidence suggests there are links between UFUN in Thailand and U-Store in Malaysia.
Fauzi said he would urgently forward the information gleaned at yesterday’s meeting to Malaysia’s police chief.
“This is an important issue. Malaysia has a specific law to crack down on Ponzi schemes,” he said.
According to Fauzi, U-Store had 1,700 members in Malaysia and was blacklisted.
He said one of UFUN’s executives was still living in Malaysia according to the latest information.
“Two other suspects wanted by Thai police have already left Malaysia, though,” he said.
He added that of the three Malaysians facing Thai arrest warrants for their alleged role in the scheme, one faced more than 10 charges in Malaysia.
Fauzi said that upon the official request from Thailand, Malaysia would set up a team to investigate UFUN and check its flow of money.
“With that, we can make arrests and order asset seizures,” he said.
