Dubliner contacts Thai police

The alleged Irish mastermind of the Thailand "boiler room" share operation has offered to give himself up to the Thai authorities, but not before he sees his lawyer first.

The Bangkok Post reported yesterday that Dubliner Mr John Keeley had contacted the Crime Suppression Division and offered to hand himself over after he had contacted his lawyer.

Thai police also say they are on the lookout for the other directors of the Brinton Group and Benson Dupont International, including a third Irish national, Mr Richard Murphy, as well as Mr Keeley. Authorities are unsure whether the other principals are still in Thailand or have managed to skip the country.

A cartoon of Mr Keeley, featuring him leaning back in a chair showered with dollar bills and surrounded by ringing phones, was among 35 boxes of documents, 20 computers and $37,500 in cash seized from the firm's offices in downtown Bangkok last Thursday.

A former associate of Mr Keeley, who is believed to be the main mover in the operation, described him as a generous and garrulous man but reluctant to talk about anything to do with his business.

"When he was in one of the bars with his mates you could see them whispering in each other's ears but when you walked up, the topic of conversation always changed.'

Meanwhile, another Irishman and an Australian accused of masterminding the share operation in Thailand appeared briefly in Bangkok South District Court on Saturday and were remanded in custody for a further 12 days.

Mr Paul Hickey (48) of south Dublin and Mr Scott Fisher are suspects in an alleged fraud operation in which cold-callers sold bogus or "ramped" shares to unsuspecting investors overseas, mostly in Australia and New Zealand, netting as much as £100 million.

The court granted authorities the extra time to complete their inquiries. The two are expected to be charged with violating the Securities Exchange Act by engaging in unlicensed broking, a charge carrying a penalty of five years' imprisonment.

The three main Thai authorities investigating the two firms - the Crime Suppression Division, the Anti Money-laundering Unit and the Securities and Exchange Commission - are thought to be looking for two other directors as well.

The national police chief, Mr Sant Sarutanond, said on Saturday a special unit would be set up to search for Mr John Messey, a Briton suspected of being heavily involved in the operation of the two firms.

Mr Messey's name was originally released along with those who had been arrested but police only now have his passport.

According to Australian prudential authorities tens of millions of pounds have been "lost" overseas by Australian investors in the last two years to bogus trading operations.