The Bangkok Post said Teow, 55, founder of the MBI Group, was arrested earlier today at the company’s headquarters in Dan Nok, near the Sadao border checkpoint.
The report said investigators found that Teow was linked to online gambling dens in Songkhla, Nakhon Si Thammarat and other southern provinces.
He was charged with laundering money in connection with online gambling in southern Thailand, said Surachate Hakparn, assistant to the national police chief, the report said.
MBI Group operates an entertainment complex, including a resort, on a 100-rai site (16 hectares, or 40 acres) at Dan Nok. His company MBI International Sdn Bhd also operates several businesses in Malaysia including a mall in Penang.
Teow was previously arrested by Malaysian police in 2017 on drug charges but appeared to have been released, the report said.
The Bangkok Post described Teow as having been dubbed “Jho Low 2”, in reference to Penang-born fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low who has been accused of siphoning money from 1MDB.
Teow is also from Penang. Last year, he and his two sons, Teow Ee Meng and Teow Chee Chow, were reported to be wanted in connection with a Macau scam syndicate that bought property totalling up to RM336 million.
In 2018, Teow was fined RM3 million and MBI International RM2.5 million for using unauthorised payment instruments.
A subsidiary company was fined RM7 million over a pyramid scheme and RM2.5 million over an unauthorised payment instrument. A director of the company was fined RM5 million under the money laundering act.
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