Singaporean arrested in Thailand for alleged involvement in ponzi scam

BANGKOK —  A 32-year-old Singaporean suspected of involvement in a major ponzi scheme was arrested at Phuket International Airport on Monday (Jan 16), according to Thai authorities. 

Daryl Cai Younghui was nabbed by the local police as he was about to catch a flight to Singapore, police captain Wissanu Chimtrakul from the country’s Department of Special Investigation (DSI) said. 

Cai is said to be a close associate of Apirak Kothi, the founder of a ponzi scheme that allegedly caused a total 2.4 billion baht (S$ 95.9 million) in losses to at least 9,000 victims.

The scam involved enticing people to invest in foreign exchange by offering a return rate of around 60 to 80 per cent.

The website www.forex-3D.com was used as an advertising channel for the scam.

Describing the scam as causing “massive amount of damage”, local authorities said that the case is currently being investigated.

Pol Maj Yuthana Praedam, director-general of the DSI, said the department sent Cai from Phuket to Bangkok on Monday.

The department would object to Cai's request for bail due to him being a serious flight risk, Pol Maj Yuthana said.

He said the DSI would proceed to take legal action against Cai but gave no indications if any would be taken against his wife, Italian-Thai model Sarah Casinghini.

Officers had contacted Ms Casinghini and Cai's lawyer to request that he report to the police and acknowledge his charges last Friday.

However, Cai did not show up, claiming that his bail money had not been settled.

The same day, the DSI went to Cai's apartment at a Chao Phraya River condominium, but he was not there.

Earlier on Jan 11, the couple had appeared on a talk show on the ONE31 digital TV channel .

Ms Casinghini claimed on the television programme that she was not involved in the Forex-3D scheme and said that her husband had returned to Thailand to try and prove he was innocent of any crimes linked to the scheme.

Cai was reported to have fled to Singapore from Thailand on Oct 25 last year, after the DSI pressed charges against him that included colluding to obtain loans to defraud, public fraud and putting false information into a computer system.

Cai has lived in Thailand for more than 10 years. BANGKOK POST