Woman nabbed by Thai police on alleged link to $182 million romance scam

A woman with alleged ties to the costliest romance scam in Thailand’s history was arrested on Saturday. 

According to Thailand’s Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), police apprehended the 52-year-old woman — identified only as Orathai — at Hat Yai International Airport in the country’s south. Orathai is accused of opening bank accounts at the behest of her Nigerian boyfriend that were allegedly used to launder the proceeds of a 6.2 billion Baht ($182.8 million) romance scam. 

Details of the scam emerged in March 2020 when the chief financial officer of the local branch of the eyewear multinational EssilorLuxottica was arrested for embezzling company funds. The woman, Chamanun Phetporee, had been approached on LinkedIn by someone purporting to be a U.S. army doctor working in Afghanistan. 

The two would eventually exchange 50,000 WhatsApp messages, Thai police said, including requests from the scammer for money supposedly to cover costs of transferring his inheritance to Thailand. 

Over three months, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Chamanun made 251 transfers to 112 bank accounts in 17 countries. She was eventually sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.

Orathai was wanted by police for being allegedly “involved in a transnational criminal organization” and laundering money. 

“After almost two years of being together, a Nigerian boyfriend persuaded the accused to open an account for him to make financial transactions giving the reason that he is a foreigner himself and cannot make financial transactions in Thailand,” the CIB said, in a translated statement. Those accounts were “entangled” with the stolen money from EssilorLuxottica, they said. 

Police said in May 2022 that 21 Thais and two Nigerian suspects in Malaysia had been apprehended in relation to the scheme.

Romance scams often originate out of Southeast Asia, where transnational gangs have set up operations that target victims worldwide. In 2023 alone, $1.14 billion in losses from romance scams were reported to the Federal Trade Commission.