Portuguese Journalist’s Spots A International Fugutive On His Holiday Trip

It was supposed to be a quiet afternoon stroll in a Bangkok luxury mall. But for one Portuguese journalist, that walk would turn into a global manhunt’s breakthrough — leading to the dramatic arrest of a fugitive crypto scammer behind a $580 million fraud empire.

39-year-old Pedro Mourato, a Portuguese national, had been hiding in Thailand since 2023 — confident he had vanished off the radar after years of orchestrating international crypto scams. His scheme spanned continents, from Europe to the Philippines, defrauding investors out of millions through fraudulent platforms disguised as high-yield blockchain ventures.

But fate — and sharp journalistic instinct — caught up with him. While vacationing in Thailand, a Portuguese journalist recognized Mourato from televised reports back home. Acting fast, he alerted Thai authorities, who used facial recognition and biometric data to confirm Mourato’s identity within hours.

Once confirmed, authorities swarmed the scene. Over ten plainclothes officers were deployed across the mall. The man who once ran a multimillion-dollar crypto empire was found sitting alone, reportedly looking “tense” while making a call on his smartphone — unaware that his double life was seconds from ending.

Born in Lisbon, Portugal, Mourato had managed to slip into Thailand unnoticed and live comfortably under a fake identity. He never renewed his visa nor registered his local address, effectively becoming an illegal resident.

Despite that, he allegedly continued his scams — defrauding local investors out of more than 1 million baht while hiding in Bangkok’s expat circles.

Interpol investigations later revealed Mourato’s connection to a wider web of crypto fraud spanning multiple jurisdictions, including Europe, Southeast Asia, and the Philippines, making him one of the region’s most elusive scam operators.

The “Safest” Place Was the Most Dangerous

Ironically, Mourato had chosen one of the worst possible countries to hide in. Thailand has become increasingly aggressive in pursuing crypto fugitives — especially after a string of high-profile arrests this year.

In May, Thai authorities nabbed a 30-year-old Vietnamese woman responsible for a $300 million crypto scam that defrauded over 2,600 victims. Around the same period, a South Korean suspect was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport for laundering cryptocurrency through gold bars, while another fraud mastermind was extradited to Seoul for duping investors — including BTS pop star Jungkook.

Thailand’s growing collaboration with Interpol and international cybersecurity units shows how global law enforcement is tightening the noose around crypto criminals who once believed they could simply “disappear” into the blockchain.