$14 Billion Cryptocurrency Fraud Thailand Extradites Fugitive Malaysian

A Malaysian businessman accused of running a major fraud syndicate has been extradited from Thailand to China in a case worth more than 100 billion yuan (about $14 billion). It is the first time Thailand has extradited a suspect in an economic crime to China since the two countries’ extradition treaty came into effect in 1999, China’s Ministry of Public Security said.

The ministry described the extradition as a “milestone” and stressed its significance for strengthening law enforcement and judicial cooperation between China and Thailand, calling it a “major achievement.”

The suspect, identified only by his surname Zhang, was sent to China on Tuesday. This refers to Zhang Yufa, also known as Tedy Teow Wooi Huat, the founder of business conglomerate MBI Group. Teow is accused of running a pyramid scheme that defrauded millions of investors, many of whom were Chinese nationals, by selling them MBI’s unlicensed and unapproved cryptocurrency. The scheme, which began in 2012, is believed to have involved more than 100 billion Chinese yuan and affected more than 10 million people.

Authorities in Chongqing, a major city in southwestern China, began investigating Teow in late 2020. Shortly after, Interpol’s China office issued a global wanted notice for him. Teow was arrested by Thai police in July 2022 after fleeing Malaysia, and China subsequently requested his extradition to face trial.

In May, a Thai court ruled in favor of Teow’s extradition to China, a decision later upheld by the Thai government. Malaysia had also requested his extradition, where he is wanted for fraud, but China’s request was given priority.

Teow’s company MBI Group made headlines in October 2019 when about 100 Chinese protested outside the Chinese embassy in Malaysia, claiming they had lost their entire savings to the company.

The Chinese government has called Teow’s case “extraordinary” and sees his extradition as a “positive example” for future international cooperation in extraditing suspects. China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, recently stressed the need for greater cooperation to combat transnational crime, particularly online gambling and telecom fraud, during a meeting with counterparts from Thailand, Laos and Myanmar at the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) forum in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Wang noted that these countries have carried out numerous joint operations, resulting in the arrest of more than 50,000 suspects in gambling and fraud cases since last year. Foreign ministers of all six LMC member states, including Cambodia and Vietnam, issued a joint statement urging closer cooperation to combat transnational crime, enhance information sharing and strengthen border controls.