Chinese fugitive behind $1.5B football betting site arrested in Thailand

Thai immigration police have arrested a Chinese fugitive in Bangkok who they say ran an online football betting website with more than 50 billion baht (US$1.5 billion) in transactions.

Police Maj. Gen. Kongchart Liangsomsap, commander of Immigration Division 1, said on Thursday that the Chinese Embassy had alerted Thai police that the 41-year-old was wanted on an arrest warrant in China and hiding in Thailand, the Bangkok Post reported.

Immigration police spent five days tracking him to a luxury condominium in Bangkok's Sukhumvit-Ekkamai area, where he rarely left his room except to buy food at local convenience stores. Officers arrested him at one of the stores.

The suspect, identified only as Liu, told Thai police during questioning that the Huangguan Internet betting platform, based in China, had more than 4,000 user accounts, The Thaiger reported.

He said he had started out placing online bets on football matches as a fan before becoming a partner in a football betting website and eventually taking ownership of it. He also told officers he had entered Thailand legally and kept to his condominium to avoid attracting attention.

Thai immigration police officers arrest a Chinese man (C) wanted in China over an online football betting site at a convenience store in Bangkok. Photo courtesy of Thailand's Immigration Bureau

Liu is wanted in China on a charge of running a gambling den, and immigration police have moved to revoke his visa, Thai Rath reported.

He has been transferred to the Immigration Bureau, where he will be held pending deportation to China, The Thaiger reported. Police have not said whether he will face charges in Thailand.

In September, police arrested a 37-year-old Chinese man at a house in Chon Buri Province over an online gambling network whose accounts had recorded more than 1.5 billion baht in transactions, the news site said. He was also detained pending deportation to China.