A Malaysian businessman accused of leading a massive fraud syndicate has been extradited from Thailand to China in a case involving over 100 billion yuan (approximately US$14 billion). This marks the first time that Thailand has extradited a suspect in an economic crime to China since the two countries’ extradition treaty took effect in 1999, according to the Chinese public security ministry.
The ministry described the extradition as a “landmark” event, highlighting its significance in strengthening law enforcement and judicial cooperation between China and Thailand. They labeled it a “major achievement.”
The suspect, identified only by his surname Zhang, was sent to China on Tuesday. This refers to Zhang Yufa, also known as Tedy Teow Wooi Huat, the founder of the business conglomerate MBI Group. Teow is accused of running a pyramid scheme that defrauded millions of investors, many of whom were Chinese nationals, by selling them MBI’s unlicensed and unrecognized cryptocurrency. The scheme, which began in 2012, allegedly involved over 100 billion Chinese yuan and affected more than 10 million people.
Authorities in Chongqing, a major city in southwest China, began investigating Teow in late 2020. Shortly after, the China bureau of Interpol issued a global wanted notice for him. Teow was arrested by Thai police in July 2022 after fleeing Malaysia, and China subsequently requested his extradition to face trial.
In May, a Thai court ruled in favor of transferring Teow to China, a decision later upheld by the Thai government. Malaysia had also requested his extradition, as he is wanted there for fraud, but China’s request took precedence.
MBI Group, Teow’s company, made headlines in October 2019 when about 100 Chinese nationals protested outside the Chinese embassy in Malaysia, claiming they had lost their life savings to the firm.
The Chinese government has called Teow’s case “extraordinary” and views his extradition as a “positive example” for future international cooperation in extraditing suspects. China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, recently emphasized the need for increased collaboration to combat cross-border crimes, particularly online gambling and telecom fraud, during a meeting with counterparts from Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar at the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) forum in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Wang noted that these countries have conducted numerous joint operations, resulting in the arrest of over 50,000 suspects in gambling and fraud cases since last year. The foreign ministers of all six LMC member countries, including Cambodia and Vietnam, issued a joint statement urging enhanced cooperation to combat transnational crime, improve information sharing, and strengthen border controls.
