Chuan’s son faces NFT fraud claims worth B15 million

Surabot Leekpai, a young Democratic Party politician and son of Parliament Speaker Chuan Leekpai, is facing allegations of involvement in a fraudulent non-fungible tokens (NFTs) investment project. The alleged fraud has resulted in damages of 15 million baht.

In late 2021, Mr Surabot, also a popular YouTuber known as “Pluem” on his own VRZOChannel, launched the Crypto Ronin NFT project. This project featured collaborations between influencers and internet idols who would become playable characters in his game. The announcement sparked a significant buzz among fans and investors.

An NFT refers to a digital asset, which can take the form of in-game items. Players can acquire these items during gameplay and then trade or sell them for cryptocurrency as they become rare and gain value over time.

Investors poured about 15 million baht into the project after it announced a full release in the second quarter of last year. But reports indicated the game was experiencing technical issues and was unplayable, prompting Mr Surabot to hold a meeting with investors. During the meeting, he assured them that the game would be released by August. However, the issue remained unresolved and investors later discovered that the project had not yet been certified by Bitkub Chain, Thailand’s popular blockchain network.

Despite the company’s announcement of the game’s initial launch phase, investors discovered that the gameplay was not progressive after playing a short portion of it. The full release of the game had been postponed four times, and due to uncertainty surrounding it, Bitkub announced the withdrawal of the game from the registered projects in March.

The situation caused concern among investors, who suspected potential fraud. They therefore filed reports with the Cyber ​​Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) against Surabot.

According to Siam Blockchain, a Thai cryptocurrency news website, the victims of this were investors who had purchased a special NFT package. This pack gave buyers the ability to use in-game items to generate income.

Responding to the case, Mr Surabot said yesterday that his lawyer is handling the situation. He declined to comment on whether this case would have any potential consequences for his father.

Currently, the channel has 6.95 million subscribers.