This is the moment a glamorous Thai YouTuber accused of scamming her followers out of £47million arrived back in Thailand in police custody after two years on the run.
Natthamon Khongchak, 32, fled to a remote island in Indonesia in 2022, where she was finally caught out by police who noticed she could not sing the national anthem.
The model – whose nickname was Nutty – posed as a foreign exchange trader while living the high life by flaunting swimwear, designer bags and trips abroad in luxury hotels.
She left Thailand after the mass investment scheme collapsed and more than 6,000 suspected victims filed complaints in Bangkok.
Speaking to local media, one woman said that she had lost the equivalent of £42,000 to the apparent scam having planned to send her children to university with the spoils.
This is the moment Thai YouTuber Natthamon Khongchak (seen with her mother), 32, arrived back in Thailand in police custody after two years on the run
The model, who was known to fans as Nutty, is accused of scamming her followers out of £47million
Natthamon posed as a foreign exchange trader while living the high life by flaunting swimwear, designer bags and trips abroad
Two years on, Natthamon was reportedly applying for an Indonesian passport which would allow her to travel abroad from her new home legally, but immigration officials became suspicious of her accent.
The reportedly asked her to sing the national anthem and the recite country’s constitution to test their suspicion, but Natthamon failed.
Police said she then broke down under interrogation and admitted she had entered the country illegally.
Further checks with Thai officials in – who had initially allowed her to slip through the net – revealed she was a fugitive wanted for the mass investment scam.
Natthamon, who had over 800,000 subscribers at her peak, first fled to Kuala Lumpur with her secretary Nichapat Ratananukrom before taking a boat to a remote Indonesian island, where her mother later joined her.
Both were arrested in Dumai City on the island of Sumatra on October 2 and they were deported to Thailand.
Footage shows them arriving back in Bangkok yesterday flanked by members of the country’s Department of Special Investigation (DSI).
Both were remanded in custody and face lengthy jail terms.
She fled to a remote island in Indonesia in 2022 as complaints against her flooded in, but she was finally caught by police on October 2 who noticed she could not sing the national anthem
Footage shows Natthamon arriving back in Bangkok yesterday flanked by members of the country’s Department of Special Investigation
Phaisal Ruangri, a lawyer who campaigns to help fraud victims, claimed ‘she used her popularity to trick her followers. Her fans believed she was a successful businesswoman.’ Natthamon is seen posing in a luxury car
Natthamon’s scheme began to unravel in April 2022, when investors began claiming they had not received the 35 per cent return they had been promised
Natthamon had over 800,000 subscribers at her peak
Contrary to reports, Natthamon told local media that she had turned herself in.
‘It was not my intention to run away,’ she said. ‘I never thought of that. I surrendered to the police.
‘I want to apologise to everyone for what I have done. I want to apologize for bringing shame on the country.’
Speaking on Friday, Police Lieutenant General Thatchai Pitaneelabut, Assistant Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police, said: ‘The suspect has been arrested for a financial fraud involving stock trading with damages of more than two billion Baht.
‘She is currently under investigation and will be sent to the DSI for legal action.’
Natthamon regularly shared trading tips, posing as a foreign exchange trader on her YouTube channel.
Her Instagram was awash with videos showcasing the star’s luxury lifestyle, including her visiting tropical beaches, posing with expensive cars and taking part in dance classes.
But lawyers representing the alleged victims filed multiple complaints claiming she used her influence on social media platforms to lure people into investing money with the promise of quick returns of 35 per cent before not paying out.
Phaisal Ruangri, a lawyer who campaigns to help fraud victims, claimed one investor had deposited as much as £423,000 with Natthamon and was yet to receive any returns.
He said: ‘The investors trusted her because she was a popular YouTube star with almost a million subscribers.
‘She used her popularity to trick her followers. Her fans believed she was a successful businesswoman.’
Police held a press conference to announce they had snared Natthamon, saying: ‘The suspect has been arrested for a financial fraud involving stock trading with damages of more than two billion Baht’
Contrary to reports, Natthamon told local media that she had turned herself in
Her mother was also arrested in Dumai City on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, and deported
Natthamon’s scheme began to unravel in April 2022, when investors began claiming they had not received the return they had been promised.
A month later, Natthamon stated in an Instagram post that she had made a mistake in trading and lost all the money – promising she would pay back her investors.
However, she also told her followers that she would not be able to repay other investors if she was jailed.
One woman told local media: ‘I was saving this money to send my children to university.
‘I thought that the money Nutty promised would help us live a more comfortable life. Now I am sick with worry as I’ve lost everything.’
According to the arrest warrant Natthamon and her secretary Nichapat Ratananukrom were wanted ‘for together defrauding people’.
They are accused ‘advertising or announcing to the public of money borrowing where the pay benefits rates are higher than the highest interest rate that a financial institution can pay’.
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