Thai police arrested a Chinese national, Liang Ai-Bing, in Bangkok. The subject is allegedly linked to the FINTOCH Ponzi scheme. This crypto scam defrauded investors of over $31 million. According to police reports, the capture resulted from a joint operation between Thailand and China.
The FINTOCH Ponzi scheme operated between December 2022 and May 2023. It promised investors daily returns of 1%. The platform used the brand “Morgan DF Fintoch” and falsely claimed affiliation with Morgan Stanley. However, the banking entity publicly denied any connection in 2023. Furthermore, the fraud used a fictitious CEO named Bob Lambert.
The investigation identified a five-person operation. Chinese authorities are searching for three other members who fled after the collapse. A fifth suspect, Zuo Lai-Jun, was arrested in China and released on bail. On-chain analyst ZachXBT was key in May 2023. He traced the stolen funds across multiple networks.
ZachXBT revealed that the team withdrew 31.6 million USDT from Binance Smart Chain. Then, the funds were moved to addresses on the Tron and Ethereum networks. This occurred just before victims reported being unable to withdraw their investments. The incident was one of the largest frauds in the DeFi space in 2023.
How are cross-border crypto scammers captured?
The arrest of Liang Ai-Bing in Thailand highlights the challenges of pursuing global crypto fraud. International cooperation was essential to locating the suspect. Liang had evaded authorities for months. He constantly moved across borders to avoid detection.
Liang was found in a luxury residence in the Wang Thonglang district. He was paying approximately $4,645 USD monthly in rent. During the raid, police discovered an illegal firearm. This added additional charges for illicit entry into Thailand and weapons possession.
This case underscores the difficulty of regulating decentralized finance. They often operate simultaneously across multiple jurisdictions. Although network transparency helps trace funds, the speed of these scams remains a challenge.
Thai authorities are coordinating Liang’s extradition to China to face fraud charges. The time gap between the May 2023 scam and the October 2025 arrest illustrates the time required for these cases. Tracking the stolen assets and the other fugitive suspects remains the priority.
