A retired Australian policeman came face-to-face with an alleged German scammer, who is said to have scammed him out of more than 1.9 million dollars.

Michael John Reinecke, 63, was reportedly duped by suspected fraudster Alex Meurer, 38, into depositing his life savings into a fake cryptocurrency website.

Alex was said to have lured Michael with promises of lucrative returns, with interest paid on the digital currency, but suddenly disappeared with the funds after taking down his sham investment platform.

Michael and his Thai wife Areerat Noonyot, 50, reported the alleged scam in which he lost 40,000,000 Baht (1.9 million AUD) at their local station in Udon Thani province on July 18.

The furious retired policeman came face-to-face with the scammer in an interview room when he was arrested at the weekend.

He shouted: 'You b*********d me.'

When the German whinged about conditions in Thai prisons, Michael said: 'You should have thought about that before you started ripping people off, mate.

'We know you ripped me off, these police know more than you think they know. You claim you lost your phone but you made 84 posts on X during that time, you numb nut.'

The expat, who retired to Thailand after a distinguished career as a cop in Queensland, Australia, said: 'I admit I made a mistake. I was genuinely looking forward to a happy retirement with my Thai wife and never imagined I would be defrauded of nearly 40 million baht like this. I am deeply saddened.'

He said he became acquainted with Alex through social media before meeting up in Phuket to discuss the investment in person, adding he was influenced by Alex's apparent credibility and knowledge.

The suspect, a self-proclaimed 'crypto millionaire', often posts Instagram videos of himself driving luxury cars and riding private jets.

Police launched an investigation and secured a warrant for Alex's arrest from the Udon Thani Provincial Court. They converged on his home in the Chalong District on August 1, but found it empty after he fled to a local gym to meet his American girlfriend.

CCTV footage shows him clambering up a fence, being careful not to impale himself on the sharp red spikes lining it.

Officers stormed the Adrenaline Fitness Club and detained Alex. He confessed to being the subject of the arrest warrant, but denied scamming the Australian.

Police Colonel Phattanawong Chanphon, superintendent of Mueang Udon Thani Police Station, said in a press conference on Saturday: 'The suspect denied all charges, insisting that he did not intend to trick Reinecke.

‘He claimed that he lost his phone and was hacked, which prevented him from calling or refunding the money.

‘However, we do not believe him because while we were waiting for the court to issue his warrant, he was still livestreaming on his accounts and luring people to invest with him. We believe that there are more Thai and foreign victims who fell for his scam.'

Officials said Alex will be charged with fraud and 'fraudulently importing false computer data into a computer system in a manner likely to cause damage to the public'.

Michael and his wife thanked the police for the successful arrest.

He said: 'After being scammed, I couldn't sleep. I was so worried that I even had to see a doctor. When I heard the news yesterday that the police had arrested him, I was so happy that I finally had a good night's sleep.

'My wife and I would like to thank the Muang Udon Thani Police Station Superintendent and the investigative team who successfully gathered evidence and obtained an arrest warrant from the court.'

Police said they were expanding the investigation to determine if Alex had scammed other people in Thailand.

(1 USD = 32.46 THB)