Thai police say 18 arrested as alleged pyramid scheme losses near $50 million

By Panarat Thepgumpanat and Chayut Setboonsarng

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai police have arrested 18 people and seized luxury goods after receiving nearly 5,600 complaints about an alleged pyramid scheme, saying on Monday they estimate investors have lost at least 1.61 billion baht ($48 million).

The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) said it had seized assets worth 225 million baht, including 29 cars, three houses and luxury watches, from the alleged perpetrators, who have been charged with defrauding the public and violating the computer crimes act.

Police said the case involved the iCon Group, which recruited people to sell beauty products and health supplements, providing them training with the promise of quick profits.

The firm uses celebrity endorsements, and its social media has showcased their top distributors on European vacations.

So far 18 people, including three celebrities, have been arrested and denied bail, according to police, who said the investigation was ongoing.

All 18 arrested, including iCon Group founder Waratpol Waratworakul, deny the charges, lawyer Withoon Kengngan told Reuters. Withoon is representing Waratpol, and his law firm is representing the company.

"We are fighting the case because this is a real business, selling products online through direct marketing," he said, adding that there was no fraud.

Multi-level marketing, direct selling and marketing is legal in Thailand, with many companies successfully using the model to sell products.

Thailand has a history of fraudulent get-rich-quick schemes and other frauds such as call centre and phoney investment scams. There have been over 500,000 cases of financial fraud between March 2022 and May 2024, according to police data, with losses totalling 63 billion baht.

($1 = 33.3600 baht)

(Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat and Chayut Setboonsarng, Editing by John Mair)