Thai cybercrime investigators have arrested six individuals linked to a sophisticated email fraud operation that siphoned $7 million from a Japanese company, with authorities freezing a majority of the stolen funds through international cooperation.
Thai cybercrime authorities have dismantled a multinational fraud ring that defrauded a major Japanese company of approximately $7 million through a Business Email Compromise (BEC) scam, a growing form of cybercrime targeting corporate financial systems. The arrests, made as part of “Operation Money Cash Back,” were announced on July 9, 2025, by Police Lieutenant General Trairong Phiwpan of the Technology Crime Suppression Division.
The investigation was triggered on April 25 after a commercial bank in Thailand flagged suspicious transactions following a notification from a Japanese banking partner. According to police, the targeted company had unknowingly transferred over 228 million baht (approximately $7 million) into Thai bank accounts, believing they were paying legitimate business partners.
Further inquiry revealed the fraudsters had infiltrated email communications between the Japanese company and its clients. They replicated legitimate email domains with convincing counterfeits and tricked the company’s finance team into transferring funds to new, fraudulent account details. Surveillance footage and banking records showed rapid cash withdrawals soon after the transactions were completed. Thai national Weerakan was captured withdrawing 3 million baht at 5:31 p.m., followed by a further 10 million baht just over half an hour later, before the account was frozen.
The recipient company was officially registered as a used car wholesale business in Bangkok’s Lat Krabang District, under the name of three Thai nationals: Weerakan, Ms. Wilaiporn, and Mr. Anucha. Arrest warrants were issued for all three, and they were detained by April 29.
The operation’s mastermind was later identified as Mr. Annest Onyebuchi, a Nigerian national who coordinated the scam with his Thai wife, Ms. Pinyanun. According to her testimony, she received fake invoices via WhatsApp and relayed them to accomplices. Police also uncovered plans to funnel an additional 100 million baht (about $3 million) into accounts controlled by Million Mix Company Limited—later renamed Food Cyber Limited—whose directors, Mr. Phuripat and Mr. Sumet, are also implicated.
On May 8, 51-year-old Ghanaian national Mr. Ibrahim was arrested at the Nonthaburi Immigration Office. He is accused of facilitating the laundering of funds by accepting international transfers and reportedly encouraged other members to delete chats and remain silent after hearing news of earlier arrests.
All six suspects face a range of serious charges under Thai law, including conspiracy to commit fraud by impersonation, fraudulent computer data entry, money laundering, using personal accounts for cybercrime, involvement in a transnational criminal organization, and participation in a criminal gang.
The investigation involved close cooperation with international law enforcement, including the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Thai police also dispatched officers overseas to assess the cybersecurity systems of the defrauded Japanese firm and its global partners. Authorities are using the case to underscore the growing threat of BEC scams and warn companies to verify financial instructions received via email, particularly when changes to account information are involved.
