Thai medical tycoon wanted for fraud fled to China, police say

BANGKOK – Thai hospital tycoon Boon Vanasin, who lured some 7.5 billion baht (S$293 million) of investments in fake medical projects, has fled to China, prompting the police to issue a warrant for his arrest.

Police have received some 520 complaints since December 2023 involving about 247 people, Mr Nopasin Poolsawat, deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, told the media on Nov 23 in Bangkok.

The victims believed they were investing in medical businesses in Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, promoted by the founder and former chairman of Thonburi Healthcare Group.

“The fundraising was for all these projects that didn’t exist,” Mr Nopasin said, according to a YouTube livestream by Channel 3 of the press conference. “The victims believed they would materialise, but two years have passed and they have not seen a single thing happen.”

Some individuals invested as much as 600 million baht because they trusted Boon’s credibility, he said.

Fled to China

Boon left Bangkok for Hong Kong on Sept 19 and “we’ve been informed he has left Hong Kong for China”, Mr Nopasin said. Police have coordinated with Interpol to issue a red notice for Boon to be arrested. 

There are nine accomplices, including Boon as “mastermind”, his ex-wife, daughter, two assistants and three brokers, Mr Nopasin said. Police are looking for Boon’s assets including 19 cars.

Boon, while chairman of Thonburi Healthcare Group, was fined by the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2022 for misleading investors by disseminating false information, and he was barred from serving as a director or executive in a public company for 42 months. BLOOMBERG