Tedy Teow, head of the MBI International Ponzi scheme, has been arrested in Thailand.

Authorities allege Teow was caught laundering money from his online gambling business.

Citing Teow (right) as a “Malaysian billionaire”, the Bangkok Post reports;

Teow Wooi Huat, also known as Tedy, was arrested at the headquarters of his MBI Group empire at Dan Nok near the border checkpoint in Sadao district of the southern province early Friday morning.

Mr Teow, 55, was charged with laundering money in connection with online gambling in southern Thailand, said Pol Lt Gen Surachate Hakparn, assistant to the national police chief.

MBI International, a $165 million dollar Ponzi scheme, was shut down by Malaysian authorities in 2017.

Teow was arrested in Malaysia in 2017. In 2018 he was formally charged with money laundering and financial fraud.

For some odd reason Teow was released on bail, after which he promptly fled Malaysia or Macau.

There Teow set about laundering his MBI International proceeds through “high-end property” in Malaysia and Thailand.

Authorities in Macau eventually cottoned on. Teow was hit with an $83 million money laundering criminal case in 2021.

Police believe Mr Teow was the mastermind behind a syndicate that tricked people in Macau into investing their money in bogus companies.

This prompted Teow to flee Macau and resettle in Thailand, where apparently he lived a “life of luxury”.

He was initially arrested in 2017 by Malaysian authorities on drug charges.

It was unclear what happened to those charges and how he managed to cross into Thailand and live a life of luxury.

I’m sure you can put Teow and Teow together.

Whether Thailand fares any better than Malaysia and Macau in keeping Teow behind bars remains to be seen.

 

Update 19th January 2023 – A Thai court has ruled that Tedy Teow will be extradited to China.