Emerald Condo developer arrested for fraud

[webfact]

Condo con

Emerald Condo developer arrested for fraud

By Kritsada Mueanhawong

 

Sawit ‘Mai’ Ketroj arrives at Patong Police Station for questioning this morning

 

The owner of a condominium project development company has been arrested after the condos were sold but the construction had never started. Damages are estimated at around a billion baht.

 

Police commanders have ordered officers to investigate after Patong Police reported that many victims have filed reports. Police have arrested Sawit ‘Mai’ Ketroj, the owner of the ‘The Emerald Nirvana Patong-Kalim’. The suspect was being questioned at Patong Police Station today (May 2).

 

Tourist Police Deputy Commander Maj Gen Surachet Hakpan says, “After the investigation, we requested an arrest warrant from the Phuket Provincial Court for Sawit Ketroj. He was arrested at the Phuket International Airport. He is to face charges in relation to fraud.

 

Full story: https://thethaiger.com/news/condo-con

 

-- © Copyright The Thaiger 2018-05-03

[neeray]

I wonder why he was at the airport? Hmm. I wonder how many baht was in his luggage?

[schlog]

Chapeau chapeau bibs. One down.

Let the court fight begin.

[BEVUP]

1 hour ago, neeray said:

I wonder why he was at the airport? Hmm. I wonder how many baht was in his luggage?

I wonder why half these events are conducted by the Tourist Police,

Its' been mentioned on here that they have no real authority 

 

Why aren't the REAL police handling this since it's Fraud

[mercman24]

i was told only yesterday there is a big block of unfinished condos in Jomtien, only empty basic shells, and the money has run out.not saying this is the same case though, anyone buying off plan needs their head read as the builder has no capital, he uses deposits to start the build of these places, and the money runs out, seen this a few times in SPAIN , one builder owed over 20 million euros, on uninhabitable villas

Edited May 3, 2018 by mercman24

[Get Real]

31 minutes ago, BEVUP said:

Why aren't the REAL police handling this since it's Fraud

Easy answer: They does not exist.

 

What I am wondering is a totally different thing. If a person is going to sell condos they never build, they are well aware that they are committing fraud. They are getting payed long time before. When the amount is so high as a billion bath, then there are some thing they must know.

* You can´t just stay in Thailand on the same address and wait for the first court order to knock on your door. That´s stupid!

 

* You must be aware of that you can´t stay in the same country. You must be positive to relocate to a country like Somalia or Kongo. If not, do not follow through. That´s stupid!

 

* You must learn from the call center guys before, so that you do not use the real company name or your own name in any situation. If not. That´s stupid!

[madmitch]

Am I missing something? I can't work out how damages can be a billion baht when the deposits taken amount to less than 3 million baht. 

 

Also what are all those photos for? Does someone at Thaiger have a new camera?

[Peterw42]

34 minutes ago, BEVUP said:

I wonder why half these events are conducted by the Tourist Police,

Its' been mentioned on here that they have no real authority 

 

Why aren't the REAL police handling this since it's Fraud

I have noticed the same thing, everything seems to be done by the tourist police nowadays, immigration round-ups, illegal hotels, crime investigations etc. Years ago they were just a point of contact between tourists and the police, anything beyond lost property or an insurance claim got passed over to the real police. As you say, it was always stated that they didnt have arrest or investigation powers.

[BigBadGeordie]

43 minutes ago, BEVUP said:

I wonder why half these events are conducted by the Tourist Police,

These type of issue can and do come under the remit of the Tourist Police, who like the Immigration Police, have full authority under law to deal with matters under their juridiction.

 

This is the remit of the Tourist Police:

1. The security of the King, the Queen, the heir, the royal family. Representative Royal Guard and security personnel.

2. Build confidence in the safety of life. And property to tourists.

3. Satisfying service and facilitating tourists.

4. Eliminate scams, exploit and protect the interests of tourists.

5. Create good cooperation between all sectors. To maximize the efficiency of protecting the interests of tourists.

6. Eliminate the problem of tourist attraction deterioration disorder.

 

Perhaps you are thinking of Tourist Police Volunteers when you suggest they have no authority.

[Deli]

Leave him for 1 hour with everyone who paid a downpayment in a closed room...and don't apply any law

[klauskunkel]

30 minutes ago, madmitch said:

Am I missing something? I can't work out how damages can be a billion baht when the deposits taken amount to less than 3 million baht. 

At a guess it's 3 million per condo unit times 300+ victims

[chippendale]

"Being professional police making people happy"

 

That made me chuckle.

[stevenl]

1 hour ago, BEVUP said:

I wonder why half these events are conducted by the Tourist Police,

Its' been mentioned on here that they have no real authority 

 

Why aren't the REAL police handling this since it's Fraud

Foreigners complained to the tourist police, so they took the first action.

[madmitch]

55 minutes ago, klauskunkel said:

At a guess it's 3 million per condo unit times 300+ victims

“The suspect defrauded victims by asking them to pay deposits and instalments totalling 2,857,551 baht.

 

I read this as the total amount. Maybe it was per capita, in which case it's a fraud on a massive scale. But surely no one would be stupid enough to pay that amount for an unstarted project. Would they?

[RandolphGB]

Another reason never to buy in Thailand. Rent everything, by the month, year, or hour

[stevenl]

14 minutes ago, madmitch said:

“The suspect defrauded victims by asking them to pay deposits and instalments totalling 2,857,551 baht.

 

I read this as the total amount. Maybe it was per capita, in which case it's a fraud on a massive scale. But surely no one would be stupid enough to pay that amount for an unstarted project. Would they?

I also think they mean the 2,8 mio as a per person payment.

[Baerboxer]

30 minutes ago, madmitch said:

“The suspect defrauded victims by asking them to pay deposits and instalments totalling 2,857,551 baht.

 

I read this as the total amount. Maybe it was per capita, in which case it's a fraud on a massive scale. But surely no one would be stupid enough to pay that amount for an unstarted project. Would they?

 

I know a Brit with a Thai wife that used to be involved in this. He lived here for some time and spoke very good Thai. Big lad, ex rugby player. He told me how once they got someone interested enough to pay a deposit (the bigger the better) they'd keep going back for more and more installments. All sorts of creative reasons as to why they needed more money and why "progress" was so low - when in fact they had little intention of ever actually building the condos.

 

Out and out crooked fraudsters scamming people. Although big he wasn't a hard man and fled back to the UK when things started getting a little heavy for him. He did become somewhat remorseful about the people he'd scammed and in some cases caused real distress. But he'd also laugh about it, and how easily people believe things and can be persuaded. He said those with Thai wives / partners were targeted as Thai always believe every "bargain" must get in quick opportunity, especially when someone else is paying !

 

He was a builder in the UK and gawd help anyone who used his company. That was some time ago and hopefully he's got his just deserts by now.

[happy chappie]

5 hours ago, neeray said:

I wonder why he was at the airport? Hmm. I wonder how many baht was in his luggage?

It's probably in bitcoin or already transferred at a very good rate to an offshore accounts apart from the tea money needed to get bail with a passport.

[Bangkok Barry]

4 hours ago, BEVUP said:

Why aren't the REAL police handling this since it's Fraud

 

Because they get paid anyway even if they do nothing.

[AsiaHand]

4 hours ago, BEVUP said:

I wonder why half these events are conducted by the Tourist Police,

Its' been mentioned on here that they have no real authority 

 

Why aren't the REAL police handling this since it's Fraud

Probably because some of them have an intrest in these projects or there are the brown envelops being traded around

 

[AsiaHand]

1 hour ago, stevenl said:

I also think they mean the 2,8 mio as a per person payment.

One of the most stupid things that you could in Thailand is to put money into a condo that has yet to be built.That being said do you think that they will take any of my shares in The Brooklyn Bridge as down payment ?

[Expatthailover]

7 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

I have noticed the same thing, everything seems to be done by the tourist police nowadays, immigration round-ups, illegal hotels, crime investigations etc. Years ago they were just a point of contact between tourists and the police, anything beyond lost property or an insurance claim got passed over to the real police. As you say, it was always stated that they didnt have arrest or investigation powers.

'Everything'

Told you a million times not to exaggerate. 

[MyFriend You]

17 hours ago, mercman24 said:

i was told only yesterday there is a big block of unfinished condos in Jomtien, only empty basic shells, and the money has run out.not saying this is the same case though, anyone buying off plan needs their head read as the builder has no capital, he uses deposits to start the build of these places, and the money runs out, seen this a few times in SPAIN , one builder owed over 20 million euros, on uninhabitable villas

I was told by the seller of my condo, that on of her clients lost 10million baht in that huge unfinished condo  ........... he's back home now.

[janclaes47]

18 hours ago, mercman24 said:

i was told only yesterday there is a big block of unfinished condos in Jomtien, only empty basic shells, and the money has run out.

 

Bit confused which one you're talking about, as there a re quite a few of those in Jomtien

[newnative]

On ‎5‎/‎3‎/‎2018 at 8:05 AM, mercman24 said:

i was told only yesterday there is a big block of unfinished condos in Jomtien, only empty basic shells, and the money has run out.not saying this is the same case though, anyone buying off plan needs their head read as the builder has no capital, he uses deposits to start the build of these places, and the money runs out, seen this a few times in SPAIN , one builder owed over 20 million euros, on uninhabitable villas

     You can buy off-plan but, to protect yourself, choose a large, well-financed builder with a good track record.  To date, at least 5 large Bangkok developers, most of them I believe public companies, have built at least 10 large condo projects in Pattaya.  All of the projects were finished and without the long delays and work stoppages of some of the small, under-funded developers.  

[xylophone]

On ‎03‎/‎05‎/‎2018 at 8:05 AM, mercman24 said:

i was told only yesterday there is a big block of unfinished condos in Jomtien, only empty basic shells, and the money has run out.not saying this is the same case though, anyone buying off plan needs their head read as the builder has no capital, he uses deposits to start the build of these places, and the money runs out, seen this a few times in SPAIN , one builder owed over 20 million euros, on uninhabitable villas

It happens a lot here in Patong as there is another similar court case under way against the developers of the derelict ACE Condo development, however, get this...……..the BIB know who they are, but won't take action!!!! Wonder why?

 

Then there is "The Park" development with around 1000 units which has gone bust, but have seen no action on that one, despite it being "abandoned" about 3 years ago. And the Crystal Development remains empty and rotting away and there are more...…….

 

People buy off the plan because they are encouraged to do so by the property sellers/sharks here who convince buyers that their money is safe, that it's a great buy, that Patong is a great place to invest in, that there is no property glut.....etc, etc.

 

The property salespeople are only interested in getting their commission and moving on to the next gullible newbie. They care not about the welfare of the buyer/investor or the losing of their hard earned savings.

[ubonjoe]

Two baiting posts have been removed.

[DrDave]

On 5/4/2018 at 12:55 AM, newnative said:

     You can buy off-plan but, to protect yourself, choose a large, well-financed builder with a good track record...

Investing off-plan with an established company with a good track record isn't always a safe bet either. Look at "The Park" project mentioned by xylophone above. The developer is Phanason, a fairly well-known outfit, but this project has been stalled for years.

[newnative]

3 hours ago, DrDave said:

Investing off-plan with an established company with a good track record isn't always a safe bet either. Look at "The Park" project mentioned by xylophone above. The developer is Phanason, a fairly well-known outfit, but this project has been stalled for years.

      I've never heard of Phanason.  I don't know Phuket and was speaking of condo developers building in Pattaya, where I am.  

[stevenl]

9 hours ago, newnative said:

      I've never heard of Phanason.  I don't know Phuket and was speaking of condo developers building in Pattaya, where I am.  

Maybe you can ask the mods to move this thread to the Pattaya forum.