A Chinese national behind the multimillion-dollar FINTOCH crypto Ponzi scheme has been arrested by police in Thailand.
According to local media, Liang Ai-Bing was the mastermind behind the fraudulent platform that posed as a legitimate DeFi investment opportunity and allegedly defrauded nearly 100 victims in China of over $14 million between December 2022 and May 2023.
Liang, however, was not acting alone but rather led a five-man operation that built and promoted FINTOCH as a blockchain-based investment platform promising high returns through daily interest payouts.
The scammers operated a mobile app and targeted retail investors with aggressive marketing, promising 1% daily returns via investments in high-yield DeFi products.
They also showcased fake testimonials to further build trust with the victims.
FINTOCH even claimed to have ties with investment bank Morgan Stanley and featured a fake CEO named Bob Lambert, whose profile picture turned out to be that of an American actor.
Chinese authorities have identified the other members of the group as Al Qing-Hua, Wu Jiang-Yan, Tang Zhen-Que, and Zuo Lai-Jun, of whom only Zuo was arrested in China and later released on bail, while the rest remain at large.
On-chain researcher ZachXBT found that the group “exit scammed” with over 31 million USDT by bridging funds to wallets across multiple chains, including Tron and Ethereum, after users reported being unable to withdraw.
It appears the team behind the ponzi @DFintoch has likely exit scammed with 31.6m USDT on BSC after the funds were bridged to multiple addresses on Tron/Ethereum and
people reported being unable to withdraw
Fintoch advertised 1% daily ROI & claimed to be owned by Morgan Stanley
FINOTCH was scrutinised by regulators across the globe
Liang’s arrest was the result of a coordinated effort between Thai and Chinese law enforcement agencies, supported by intelligence sharing that led to a Criminal Court-issued search warrant for his Bangkok residence.
Chinese authorities have had the firm within their radar since early 2023, when multiple complaints surfaced about investors being locked out of their accounts.
Around the same time, the Monetary Authority of Singapore issued a public warning about FINTOCH’s false claims of operating under local regulation just weeks before the founders vanished with user funds.
Despite the early warning, FINTOCH continued to operate until its collapse.
Thai authorities found Liang living alone at a luxury home office in Bangkok’s Wang Thonglang district since late last year, paying $4,645 a month in rent while on the run, and is now facing charges for illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition, as well as unlawful entry into Thailand.
Authorities are working to expedite his extradition to China, where he is expected to face additional criminal proceedings tied to the FINTOCH fraud.
More China-linked scams taken down
Last month, authorities cracked down on another high-profile case involving Chinese national Chen Zhi, who allegedly ran a pig butchering ring linked to human trafficking and crypto fraud.
US prosecutors are currently seeking the forfeiture of over 127,000 BTC related to the case.
During the same month, Zhimin Qian, also referred to as China’s ‘goddess of wealth’, pleaded guilty to crimes involving a crypto scheme that defrauded over 128,000 victims in China between 2014 and 2017.
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