Couple arrested in Bangkok over US$114 million scam in Taiwan

Pol Lt-General Phakphumphiphat Sujjapan told a press conference on Wednesday that the couple were arrested at the car park of their condominium tower while they were preparing to flee to Singapore, but he did not say when the arrest occurred.

He identified the couple (who have multiple names and passports) only by their ages and given names: Golden, 64, and his wife Miuki, 57.

They have allegedly been on the run for 20 years and had purchased Belizean passports as well as Thailand Elite cards.

Phakphumphiphat said Immigration Bureau police located the couple after the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Thailand sought help from the bureau.

Phakphumphiphat, who leads the bureau, said the couple are accused of collaborating with more than 10 other alleged criminals to create a fake company named Richmon to swindle investors.

The couple’s partners in the alleged crime were arrested previously, he said.

They allegedly told investors in Taiwan that Richmon’s parent company was Richmon Bank, which was itself part of a company called the Geneva-Europe Organisation.

They allegedly forged financial statements for the company to convince Taiwanese investors that they could receive returns on investment of more than 24% a year if they put their money into Richmon.

After $114 million was invested in the firm, the couple and their partners told the investors that Richmon’s bank account in Latvia had been frozen and the company had lost all of the money invested in it.

An investigation in Taiwan found that Richmon, its parent company, and the Geneva-Europe Organisation were fictitious entities.

Phakphumphiphat said the couple fled Taiwan 20 years ago for Belize, an island country off the northeast coast of Central America. They received citizenship through investment in the country and were given passports.

The couple changed their names and travelled to Thailand in 2018.

They purchased Thailand Elite cards and had been living in a condominium in Bang Na until they were arrested.

After police uncovered their identities, the Immigration Bureau revoked their visas. This alerted them that they were being watched, so they prepared to travel to Singapore, Phakphumphiphat said.

They were arrested in the car park of their condominium building while they were about to depart for an airport, Phakphumphiphat said.

Police are waiting for a court order to freeze their assets, which include a condominium worth 15 million baht as well as 2 million baht in a bank account, he said.