The Finnish victim of a major Bitcoin scam in Thailand has dropped his complaint, leaving the police to drop fraud charges.
The Bitcoin scam that happened recently in Thailand has taken another turn. In this scam, the 22-year-old Finnish victim, Aarni Otava Saarimaa, handed over more than 5,500 bitcoins to be used for multiple investments. The cryptocurrency was stolen instead, moved through multiple wallets, and converted into Thai baht. Now the victim has dropped his complaint after reaching a settlement with two of the alleged scammers.
Bitcoin Scam Twists and Turns
The Finnish man was only one of the victims of the Bitcoin scam. The other was his partner, Chonnikan Kaewkasee, a Thai businesswoman. They handed over 797 million baht in bitcoins ($24 million at the time) over to the scammers. The funds were to be invested in three different ventures, including Dragon Coin, and Expay Software Co, a company owned by one of the scammers. The money was actually used in real estate ventures in Bangkok, Nonthaburi, and Chon Buri.
The bitcoins have only gone up in value since the scam took place. The current USD value of the bitcoins is over $40.5 million. Police arrested some of the defendants in the case, including a popular Thai actor, Jiratpisit “Boom” Jaravijit. The actor’s siblings and parents are also involved in the case, with his brother, Prinya Jaravijit, the key suspect, still at large. The brother is reportedly overseas but is expected to turn himself in on September 17th.
The actor recently turned himself in and expressed his innocence of any charges. What is interesting is that his parents face the more serious charges of money laundering as they were the ones who moved the bitcoins from wallet to wallet.
Fraud Charges Dropped
The latest chapter in this Bitcoin scam saga is that the fraud charges will be dropped. Thai law permits such a charge to be dropped if the victim agrees to it and a settlement is reached. Saarimaa has indeed reached a settlement with two of the defendants, businessmen Prasit Srisuwan and Chakris Ahmad. The details of the settlement were not revealed.
As for the continuation of the case, it remains unclear how many other charges will be made, and against whom. The police have said that the parents of Jiratpisit “Boom” Jaravijit will be charged with money laundering.
One does need to be careful. Scams are everywhere, and cryptocurrency allows criminals the ability to touch people all over the world. One recent scam was supposedly cheating husbands would have their porn viewing habits exposed to friends and family unless a payment was made in Bitcoin. Then there was the use of $2 million in counterfeit currency used to buy bitcoins. Earlier this year, a scam artist in India, along with his brother, was arrested for stealing $300 million in a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme. Remember to always due diligence before investing in any project.
What do you think of the fraud charges being dropped in this Bitcoin scam? Let us know in the comments below.
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