Thai authorities have made a number of arrests and seizures pertaining to The iCon Group.
The iCon Group is an MLM firm marketed throughout Thailand in Thai. Merchandise detailed on The Icon Group’s web site, which continues to be lively, reveal a typical dietary complement providing.
Compensation particulars aren’t offered but when The iCon Group is in actual fact a pyramid scheme, it’s most likely a typical autoship recruitment mannequin.
That’s an MLM firm stuffed with distributors who’ve recruited distributors, incomes commissions on month-to-month orders by recruited distributors. In such corporations retail gross sales are nearly non-existent, making them pyramid schemes.
As per an October twentieth report from the Bangkok Publish;
Victims reported the corporate lured them with on-line advertising and marketing programs costing lower than 100 baht and pressured them into additional monetary commitments, leading to substantial losses.
A 61-year previous sufferer who requested to not be named mentioned she realized concerning the firm’s enterprise from a tv present in the course of the Covid-19 outbreak a number of years in the past.
After a web based orientation session, she mentioned she paid greater than 250,000 baht to use to be an organization supplier and purchase the merchandise after the individuals who have been above her, also referred to as uplines, assured her that she would earn a whole bunch of hundreds of baht.
She tried to make use of merchandise herself first to check their qualities, nevertheless it turned out the merchandise have been inferior to marketed so she didn’t promote them to others, she mentioned.
She tried to return the merchandise to the uplines solely to be refused, she mentioned.
They advised her the one resolution was for her to recruit new members and to share the proportion of her recruits’ gross sales, she mentioned.
From what I can inform, The iCon Group seems to have collapsed earlier this month. This prompted a flood of complaints to authorities.
As of October 18th, Thai authorities had acquired over two thousand The iCon Group complaints. Alleged losses from the complaints topped $25 million.
Following an investigation into The iCon Group, authorities made arrests on Wednesday, October sixteenth.
Authorities have already seized 24 luxurious vehicles, 7.5 million baht in money, 51 watches, and quite a few brand-name luggage and merchandise from suspects linked to The iCon Group fraud case, with the entire worth of seized belongings reaching roughly 210 million baht.
Some suspects who transferred belongings to others might face extra prices for cash laundering.
The arrested suspects embrace Waranthaphon Wratyaworrakul (aka “Boss Paul), The iCon Group’s founder and CEO.
At present, 18 suspects, together with Waranthaphon “Boss Paul” Wratyaworrakul, founder and CEO of The iCon Group, have been arrested on prices of public fraud and falsifying info in a pc system. All suspects are presently in custody.
Mr Warnthaphon, 41, appeared burdened as he was escorted from the CIB to the court docket on Ratchadaphisek Highway at 9.15am.
Following his arrest Warnthaphon didn’t apply for bail. He stays in custody pending the result of his case.
Seventeen suspects have been despatched to court docket on Thursday. All have been taken to jail after the court docket rejected bail requests submitted by three high-profile celebrities, citing flight threat, whereas the others didn’t apply for launch.
The three celebrities are actor Yuranunt “Boss Sam” Pamornmontri, actress Pechaya “Boss Min” Wattanamontree and tv host Kan “Boss Kan” Kantathavorn.
One movie star caught up within the rip-off is Min Pechaya Wattanamontri.
Following The Icon Group’s collapse, Pechaya distanced herself from the rip-off by denying “any involvement”.
In a tearful press convention, Min apologized to the victims of the alleged fraud and expressed shock on the flip of occasions.
She clarified that she had been employed as a presenter and public relations officer, and that her function didn’t prolong to being a shareholder or companion within the firm.
Min revealed that she had been working with iCON Group for over a yr and had checked the corporate’s registration standing and product high quality earlier than signing on.
She expressed remorse for not conducting a extra thorough investigation, and vowed to totally cooperate with any investigations into the matter.
Perchaya and two different movie star accomplices have been arrested on October 18th.
A Bangkok court docket issued arrest warrants for Min, TV host Kan Kantathavorn, and actor Yuranunt Pamornmontri, accusing them of collaborating in public fraud and coming into false info into a pc system.
Earlier than their arrest, the three have been interrogated fro over 5 hours. Investigations confirmed that each one had roles inside The iCon Group … Min served as the corporate’s communications director.
Owing to its localization and deal with Thailand, BehindMLM wasn’t conscious of The iCon Group until the arrests final week.
Proof introduced by Thai authorities suggests cash stolen via The iCon Group could have been transformed to cryptocurrency and laundered out of Thailand. A few of the ill-gotten positive factors is alleged to have been used to pay bribes to Thai state companies.
On Thursday, Pol Maj Gen Jaroonkiat Pankaew, deputy commissioner of the CIB, had questioned Mr Warathaphon about an audio clip that includes a dialog between two males.
The corporate’s CEO admitted the audio clip that went viral on social media was his personal voice. Nonetheless, he insisted he had by no means paid bribe cash to any state companies as alleged.
His lawyer additionally refuted claims made by Ekkapop Luangprasert, an advisor to the inside minister, concerning asset conversion into cryptocurrency for bribes.
The Nation reviews the variety of iCon Group complaints has risen from ~2000 to over 4700 between October 18th and twentieth. Reported losses have climbed to $123 million.
Pending ongoing investigations by Thai authorities, the vast majority of funds paid into The iCon Group stay unaccounted for.