DSI Cautions against FOREX Investment Fraud

The Department of Special Investigation has received reports from the public regarding a case in which they were lured to invest in forex copy trading, with training provided to interested individuals at various locations to encourage investment in stocks through the “World Class Financial” broker. They claimed that investing would guarantee profits and could be withdrawn daily. However, after investing, they were unable to withdraw their money and when the victims asked about withdrawing their money or profits received, they received an automatic response from LINE official accounts: DB copy trade and wcf Thailand, and were unable to withdraw their money even after several months.
 

The Department of Special Investigation would like to inform the public that regarding investment in foreign currency trading, the Bank of Thailand has issued Announcement No. 51/2562 dated 24 September 2019 to warn against advertising through websites and social media that invites the public to invest in foreign currency trading (FOREX or FX) with a promise of high returns. The public has been warned to be cautious and not to believe in such persuasions. Under the law on exchange control, transactions involving foreign currency must be made with a licensed entity authorized by the Minister of Finance, such as commercial banks or securities companies. Members of the public can consult the list of licensed entities on the Bank of Thailand’s website (www.bot.or.th). The Bank of Thailand has never issued licenses to entities other than banks and securities companies to trade or exchange foreign currency over the Internet. If anyone provides such services in Thailand, it is a violation of exchange control law, and the Bank of Thailand does not allow outbound foreign remittance to pay for FOREX transactions on foreign websites. Violations shall constitute an offence under the law on exchange control, and persons who persuade or advertise invitations to the public to trade foreign currency without a license may be subject to violations of the law on borrowings which are regarded as public cheating and fraud. The Department of Special Investigation would therefore once again caution the public against such practice and will conduct further investigation.