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Bangkok Post
Bangkok Post
National

Police charge celebrity couple

Pattanapon aka 'DJ Man' Minthakhin and his singer-wife Suteewan 'Baitoey' Thaweesin met Department of Special Investigation investigators on Wednesday to acknowledge three charges in connection with the Forex-3D online Ponzi fraud. (Photo: Bitoeysiam Instagram)

Pattanapon "DJ Man" Minthakhin and his singer-wife Suteewan "Baitoey" Thaweesin on Wednesday reported to the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) to acknowledge three charges in connection with the Forex-3D online Ponzi fraud.

The couple met DSI investigators at 2pm, a day early. They had been scheduled to report on Thursday.

Investigators informed them of three charges -- colluding to obtain loans to defraud, public fraud and putting false information into a computer system.

The couple denied all charges and said they would provide evidence to counter them and submit supporting documents to the DSI investigators on Sept 30. After hearing the charges and undergoing questioning, they were allowed to go home.

Two other suspected leading players in the Forex-3D scam were due to hear charges against them today.

However, they have requested their meeting be postponed until tomorrow, according to the DSI.

The celebrity couple previously took to Facebook on Aug 20 to say they had never persuaded anyone to invest in Forex-3D, and were not listed as business partners in Forex-3D Co.

In 2019, the DSI summoned the couple to clarify their connection to the man allegedly behind Forex-3D, Apiruk Kothi, who is accused of a multi-billion-baht fraud.

Forex-3D claimed to be an online dealer in foreign exchange, with a flashy website, but was unlisted and operated as a Ponzi scheme.

Last month, actress Savika, "Pinky" Chaiyadej, 36, her mother and her brother were indicted and denied bail on charges of operating the scam, which allegedly cheated thousands of people out of about 2 billion baht.

Meanwhile, acting Sub Lt Thanakrit Jit-areerat, secretary to the justice minister, said no one had filed a complaint with the DSI against a popular TV actor, who was not named.

The DSI had opened a channel for the 13,000 or so alleged victims to file complaints.

About 9,000 complainants have so far registered with the DSI. Checks found that nobody had implicated the actor in the scheme, acting Sub Lt Thanakrit told reporters, without mentioning the person's name.

He was responding to reports that a Facebook page created to gather names of victims in the Forex-3D case had claimed the actor, who supposedly lives somewhere along Rama IV Road, was a leading player in Forex-3D and had encouraged many people to invest in the scheme.

Acting Sub Lt Thanakrit urged any other damaged parties to file complaints.

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