Thai Police Arrest South Korean Man in $50M Crypto-to-Gold Laundering Scheme

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The Thai Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) has arrested a 33-year-old South Korean man at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok under charges of fraud, impersonation, and money laundering. 

The suspect, identified by the surname Han, is alleged to have laundered cryptocurrency into gold bars for call-center fraud syndicates in an operation worth more than 1.6 billion baht (nearly $50 million).

Ten other suspects, including alleged money launderers and money mules, had already been arrested for their involvement by the time Han was intercepted after flying into Bangkok from South Korea on August 23. 

Upon questioning, Han said he worked for a group in South Korea that converted digital assets into gold bars for call-center criminal syndicates. Between January and March 2024, his crypto wallets received large quantities of various digital assets, worth approximately 47.3 million in USDT.

Following a common strategy, the victims of these scams were hired for fake part-time jobs, such as boosting likes on social media, before being persuaded to invest money for exceptionally high returns. 

As is typical, small initial payouts from these “investments” were made to build trust, prompting victims to make more significant investments that were then stolen. Cases like this show how fraudsters target often vulnerable jobseekers and demonstrate the importance of knowing how to spot scams in the freelance marketplace.