http://www.ananova.com/business/story/sm_360631.html

Britons and Irish arrested in Bangkok fraud raids

Police have arrested 81 foreigners - most of them British and Irish citizens - in raids on two "boiler room" stock trading companies in Bangkok and confiscated assets worth an estimated worth £4 million.

Officers from the US FBI and the Australian police joined Thai officers in raids on offices in the Thai capital's business district.

General Sant Sarutanond, the Thai deputy national police chief, said two companies were suspected of operating unlicensed securities services and may have engaged in fraud against foreign investors.

"Many complaints showed that after the money was transferred to Bangkok accounts, either investors have problems getting their money back or no further contact could be made to the brokers at all," Sant said.

The companies hired more than 70 foreigners hired to cold-call potential customers, mostly in Australia and New Zealand.

Police said most of those arrested were British and Irish, but also included Americans, Canadians, Australians and citizens of several European countries, who would be charged with working illegally in Thailand. Nineteen Thais who were also arrested had not yet been charged.

Under the Thai law, anyone convicted of running an unlicensed securities operation is liable to imprisonment for up to five years.

Sant said more than 100 investors, mostly Australians, had been solicited by telephone by sales persons to buy shares of bogus US companies based in Bangkok.

He said the transfer of a large amount of money by the two companies raised suspicion that they belonged to an international group based outside Thailand and may have been engaged in international money laundering.

The companies raided Thursday also operated under the names Osiris Asia Pacific, Strategic Alliance Corporation, Sigama Capital Management and Dreyfus Capital, he said.