Key suspect in “Ufun Store” fraud apprehended at Don Mueang airport

A key suspect in the Ufun pyramid scheme was arrested at Don Mueang airport on Friday, after having fled the country almost a decade ago.

Upon receiving a tip that the suspect, identified only as “Neo”, an executive of Ufun Store, was flying into Don Mueang airport, Consumer Protection Division officers alerted immigration officers at the airport to look for the suspect among arrivals from abroad.

When the suspect reached the immigration checkpoint, he was immediately arrested and was taken to the Consumer Protection Police Division for questioning.

In January this year, officers from the division arrested the wife of an executive of the Ufun Store online pyramid scheme, identified only as “Ratthakitbovorn”, in Si Sa Ket province, after almost ten years on the run.

Two arrest warrants were issued in June 2015 and January 2016 for defrauding the public, money laundering, and collusion in transnational crime.

The Ufun network duped several thousand people into investing more than 10 billion baht in the U-Token cryptocurrency and in the direct the sale of fruit juice drinks, and herbal and cosmetic products, promising high returns. It was a pyramid scheme.

In March 2017, 22 defendants were sentenced by the Criminal Court to a total of 12,267 years in prison for their involvement in the scheme.