Department of Special Investigation joins iCon case

The Department of Special Investigation says it will handle suspected money-laundering in relation to the fraud case against the direct marketing business of The iCon Group.
The DSI is authorised to investigate alleged laundering of money worth 300 million baht and over, acting director-general Pol Maj Yutthana Phraedam said on Thursday.
He said the DSI stepped into the iCon case as it suspected victims’ money was spent on assets and properties. That was tantamount to asset transformation, he said.
The DSI expects to file money-laundering charges against 18 detained suspects in the case and others who could be arrested later, Pol Maj Yutthana said.
The police would continue with their investigation into alleged public fraud and other criminal offences in the case, he said.
On Thursday police said 8,137 people had filed complaints about losses totalling 2.41 billion baht related to the iCon business.
The business focused on the direct marketing of dietary supplements. It attracted many people by offering e-commerce training courses for only 100 baht, and then encouraged them to buy products to sell.
There were several layers of dealers who sold the products. Some complainants told police that they did not receive all the products they had ordered and paid for. Others said the group focused more on the recruitment of new dealers than on product promotion.
The iCon Group had a total of 368,257 members, CEO Warathaphon “Boss Paul” Waratyaworrakul told local media before his arrest last week. Of the total, 285,833 are “distributors” who paid 2,500 baht, 43,976 are “supervisors” who paid 25,000 baht, 6,476 are “mini-dealers” who paid 50,000 baht, and 31,972 are “dealers” who paid 250,000 baht.