Integrity Legal

Fraud and white collar crime are significant concerns for any country as such activities can have a very harmful impact upon investors, consumers, and the overall economy. Apparently, there has been a noticeable rise in the number of certain types of white collar crime in the Kingdom of Thailand. Such schemes, called Pyramid schemes or Ponzi schemes have been prevalent in many western countries in the past and have seen a resurgence since the rise of the internet. In Thailand, such schemes appear to be on the rise. The website Thaivisa.com is reporting upon this issue in Thailand:

“Pyramid scheme businesses can survive at the expense of people being lured into the trap of hope to earn quick money although the authorities have been attempting to impede pyramid scheme swindlers by educating people about such incidents. Nonetheless, self-awareness to greed is the vital key to ensure that no one will fall into the trap, if we can change this value in each individual, pyramid scheme businesses will no longer appeal to anyone.”

Apparently, the Kingdom of Thailand has been a very popular place for those who specialize in Pyramid schemes and Ponzi schemes. That being said, most such enterprises claim to be something other than simply a Pyramid Scheme:

“In the last few years, pyramid scheme businesses have gained significant popularity Thailand as people have been lured into making investments in some intangible businesses. Nowadays, some of pyramid scheme swindlers disguise themselves as either direct sales or tourism enterprises, making it even more difficult for innocent people to differentiate and for authorities to trace the frauds.”

Most people understand that the forces of greed, if left wholly unchecked, can result in major aberrations in capitalist countries. Most nations, Thailand included, take measures to place a check upon those who would harness unwitting individuals’ greed and use it for their own purposes. However, at the end of the day, the population at large must be educated about the dangers of Pyramid Schemes:

“Legal officials have cautioned people to check before deciding to invest and to do some research on whether the companies have legally registered with the OCPB or if previous complaints have been filed by consumers or not. Furthermore, Ms Sareeya admitted that some companies did not conduct their businesses according to the plan submitted to the OCPB. She stressed that pyramid scheme businesses would focus more on financial return and recruitment of more members instead of tangible goods or services while some companies only had their goods available in catalogs.”

Those foreign nationals interested in investing in Thailand may be wise to conduct serious due diligence with regard to certain investment vehicles. Due Diligence may even need to be conducted for what turns out to be a legitimate Thailand Company in order to ascertain whether the buyer will receive what they bargained for. In any case, if a potential investor believes that “it sounds too good to be true,” then there is apparently a good chance that it probably is.

For more information on legal issues in Thailand please see: American Attorney Thailand.

Tags: American Attorney Thailand, Investing In Thailand, Ponzi Scheme, Ponzi Scheme Thailand, Pyramdi Scheme, Pyramid Schem Thailand, Thailand company
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