MBI Group founder Teow Wooi Huat was arrested yesterday in Bangkok over alleged money-laundering charges in connection with online betting south of Thailand.

Bangkok Post reported that the wealthy Malaysian businessman, aka Tedy, was picked up by police at the headquarters of his MBI Group empire at Dan Nok, near the border checkpoint in Sadao.

Assistant police chief Surachate Hakparn said the 55-year-old Teow is accused of laundering the proceeds of online gambling.

Surachate said a crackdown on online gambling dens in Songkhla, Nakhon Si Thammarat and other southern provinces had uncovered links to Teow.

The Malaysian businessman is the owner of the MBI Group, which runs a vast entertainment complex, including a resort, on a 16ha site in Dan Nok.

Teow also owns MBI International Sdn Bhd in Malaysia.

He was arrested in 2017 by Malaysian authorities on charges of financial crimes but fled across the border last year to Thailand, where he was reported to be living the high life.

The South China Morning Post said Teow was wanted in connection with a RM336 million money-laundering scheme in Macau.

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

The money was used to buy property in Malaysia and Thailand and to invest in cryptocurrency, they said. – July 23, 2022.