The ten Irishmen who were arrested in Thailand as part of a fraud investigation appeared in court today, a Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman said.
The Irishmen, aged between 23 and 48, were among 85 foreigners arrested by Thai police investigating a suspected investment racket that has allegedly defrauded investors of hundreds of millions of dollars.
The spokesman told ireland.comthe men are believed to be safe and well.
He said: "The hononary consul for Ireland, Mr Peter Biesty, visited them before they were taken to court and offered them whatever assistance he could provide".
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However, the Irish consulate has been told there will be no official information on today’s court hearing or the charges faced by the 10 Irish men until Monday.
Reports in the Thai media said the men will be subject to charges for breaching the Antimoney Laundering Act and Securities and Exchange Act including fraud, money laundering and running unlicensed security companies.
Initial media reports say the majority of those who appeared in court have been fined a small amount for working in Thailand without a permit and released. They are believed to be still under investigation.
About 30 Britons, 45 other foreigners and 19 Thais were also charged with involvement in the scheme, in which they were hired to cold-call Australian homes and businesses and persuade them to buy non-existent stocks. It believed the ringleaders were not among those arrested.
Some Irish media reports say three other Irishmen are thought to have masterminded the operation and are now being sought by the authorities.
The arrests have come after a two-year investigation involving authorities in America, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong of people being cheated out of money.
The racket is well known in Bangkok, where backpackers have been earning substantial pay for manning the telephones in headquarters set up in city office buildings.
Police say the callers claimed to be located in Tokyo and that the money was switched to an account in Hong Kong. But little is known about the scheme, and police concede they had not caught the ringleader of the operation.
Australian Securities and Investment Commission director of consumer protection Mr Peter Kell said complaints about the scheme had grown steeply in the last 12 months or so.
"We've been after some of those cold-calling scams for some time now, but more recently we have been more actively dealing with our Thai counterparts and we're very pleased to see this action," he said.
The FBI declined to comment when contacted by ireland.com, saying the investigation is being handled by the Thai authorities.
Additional reporting AFP