Finnish man takes Bitcoin beating as Thai fraudsters swoop

A Finnish man has lost a total of 5,564.4 Bitcoins (worth roughly $24 million at the time) to scammers in Thailand.

According to the Bangkok Post, 22-year-old Aarni Otava Saarimaa was approached by a group of people in June last year, who offered him in on an investment scheme. The Crime Suppression Division (CSD) learned of the scam in late January this year when they received a complaint from Thai businessman Chonnikan Kaeosali, a business partner of Saarimaa.

The pair were lured into buying shares in three companies and investing in a casino and new cryptocurrency known as Dragon Coins, but saw no returns on the money they put in.

The Bitcoins were converted into Thai currency, deposited it into accounts belonging to seven suspects, and some of this was spent on plots of land. The fraudsters allegedly include Thai actor Jiratpisit ‘Boom’ Jaravijit, who was arrested in July, and two of his siblings, one of which has left the country. The latter face money laundering charges and, potentially, fraud charges.