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A 38-year-old Nigerian has been arrested in Bangkok, Thailand, for allegedly operating bank accounts and arranging money transactions as part of a so-called “romance scam”.
According to the Immigration Police Bureau Chief, Pol Lt-General Sompong Chingdoung who addressed a press conference on Thursday, police made the arrest on July 19 at a condominium in Bang Na district.
He said 14 items of evidence, including several bankbooks, ATM cards and money transaction slips, as well as the suspect’s cellphone, were recovered during the raid.
The Nation Thailand reports that the romance scam was perpetrated by a gang claiming to be white businessman, who feigned romantic intentions towards their victims via social media. After gaining their trust and affection, the gang coaxed the duped women into transferring money to bank accounts they controlled.
One victim in Phuket allegedly lost Bt897,400 to the scam. Police are now hunting for the accomplices of the 38-year-old suspect as identified in the photo below.
Sompong said that investigators found that the suspect was using bank accounts that had been opened by Thai nationals in exchange for payment. The gang had opened a front company to transfer the ill-gotten money to accomplices overseas.
The report said the suspect will be returned to Phuket, where the arrest warrant was issued on July 9 on a charge of conspiracy to commit fraud.