Chinese wine fraudster arrested in Bangkok

A Chinese man, identified only as Ming, has been arrested in Bangkok after fleeing his home country where he is wanted on charges of fraud after duping wine retailers out of CNY2 million.

Thai authorities have detained a man in Bangkok thought to have fled China to escape arrest.

Identified only as Ming, the man was arrested in Bangkok for working illegally and overstaying his visa, the Bangkok Post has reported.

The suspect, a 42-year-old man, was apprehended by authorities in the lobby of a hotel in the Chatuchak district, immigration officers said on Friday. The arrest was made following a tip off made to the Thai Immigration Bureau about a foreigner, who appeared to be Chinese, working and staying illegally in Bangkok.

According to immigration police, he was supplying private tours to Chinese tourists visiting the city, and was apprehended while checking clients in to a hotel in the area. He was thought to be staying at a condominium in the Ramkhamhaeng area.

When asked to produce legal documents, officers found that his visa had expired on 3 February.

Ming is thought to be wanted for fraud offences committed in China in January last year, where he claimed to be a sales manager of a wine company, according to Chinese authorities. He is said to have duped retailers by offering to sell them rare wines at a 10% discount. However, after receiving the money, the wine was never supplied to retailers, according to Chinese authorities. The victims lost around CNY2 million (£216,559), said immigration officers.

Last year, researchers created an AI tool able to detect wine fraud by tracing compounds found in the wine back to specific châteaux. The upshot of this could be a reduction in counterfeit wines being found on the market. Read more about that here.