Twelve luxury houses in Bangkok’s Krungthep Kreetha area, worth a combined Bt600 million, along with several expensive cars, were impounded during raids at 30 targeted locations in Bangkok, Samut Prakan and Udon Thani provinces on August 30.

Some 200 officers from the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB), anti-money laundering officials and prosecutors joined in the raids.

Pol Lt-Gen Jirabhop Bhuridej, commissioner of Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), said after the raids, that the 12 luxury houses, each worth an estimated Bt50 million, are suspected to have been bought with “grey” money allegedly cheated from victims in romance scams, operated by a Chinese gang, and laundered by a Thai law firm owned by a Chinese national.

He said that the gang normally target wealthy women and lure them into investing in crypto currency speculation, with promise of high returns, but the victims eventually discover that they have been cheated.

The money from the victims was allegedly being laundered through the Thai law firm, mostly by buying luxury houses.

The police also took into custody a Thai model, identified as “Ms Chakrina”, aka “Ki-Ki Maxim”, for alleged involvement with the romance scam gang.