Thailand extradites Malaysian fugitive to China over $14 billion cryptocurrency fraud

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The ministry said the suspect was sent to China on Tuesday and gave only the man’s surname: Zhang. This was a reference to Zhang Yufa, better known as Tedy Teow Wooi Huat, the founder of the business conglomerate MBI Group.

After investigation, Teow is suspected of having a pyramid scheme and defrauding people, many of whom believed to be Chinese nationals, by misleading and enticing them into purchasing unlicensed and unapproved cryptocurrency from MBI.

According to the ministry, more than 10 million investors have fallen for the plot since 2012, with a total of more than 100 billion yuan involved.

In late 2020, authorities in the southwestern Chinese metropolis of Chongqing launched an investigation into Teow. A few months later, the Chinese bureau of Interpol, the International Criminal Police Organization, issued a global search notice for him.

Thai police arrested the businessman in July 2022 after he fled Malaysia, after which Beijing requested Bangkok to have him deported to face trial in China.

In May, a Thai court made a final ruling to hand Teow over to China, a decision later supported by the Thai government.

Kuala Lumpur had also requested Teow’s deportation to Malaysia, where he is also wanted for fraud. But their request was made after China’s.

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MBI Group, which describes itself as a company with “diversified interests in resources and management developments”, in the headlines in October 2019, when about 100 Chinese held a protest outside Beijing’s embassy in Malaysia, claiming they had lost their life savings to the company.

The Chinese government has described Teow’s case as “extraordinary” and expects the suspect’s transfer to set a “positive example” for future extradition cooperation between China and other countries.

Speaking at the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Forum in the Thai city of Chiang Mai last week, China’s top diplomat said Wang Yi There were calls for increased transnational cooperation to combat cross-border crime in the region, in particular online gambling and telecom fraud.
Meeting with his colleagues from Thailand, Laos and BurmaWang said the four countries have carried out many joint operations and arrested more than 50,000 suspects in gambling and fraud cases since last year.

The foreign ministers of all six countries under the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Mechanism, which also includes Cambodia and Vietnam, adopted a joint statement at the meeting on strengthening cooperation in combating transnational crime.

“We are deeply concerned about the seriousness and severity of the continuing and increasing threat posed by cross-border crime,” the statement said.

“We urge Member States to prioritise cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking and the reduction of telecommunications/online fraud and all forms of online gambling,” it added, calling on all six countries to work together to improve information exchange and border controls.

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