A Portuguese crypto scam suspect was arrested in Thailand after a holidaying reporter from his home country recognised him from the news.

Pedro Mourato, 39, from Lisbon, reportedly defrauded victims across Europe and Asia of around 500 million EUR before fleeing to Bangkok

After two years in hiding, he was discovered when a Portuguese journalist on vacation recognised him from Portuguese media coverage and alerted local police.

Immigration officials used facial recognition technology and biometric databases to Pedro's identity.

More than 10 plainclothes officers then swept into the luxury shopping mall in Bangkok where he was spotted on October 2. They waited for five hours before finding the alleged fugitive on the phone 'wearing a tense expression'.

Footage shows police surrounding Pedro before they checked his passport, which showed his last visa stamp was from 2023. He allegedly admitted he had overstayed in Thailand.

Authorities said Pedro had carried out fraud in Portugal and Europe. He had fled to the Philippines before hiding in Thailand, where he continued conducting crypto fraud that caused around 26,530 EUR in losses.

A warrant was issued for his arrest, but was later withdrawn from the system. Pedro then fled to southern Thailand, disappearing from immigration records without registering a local address.

Portuguese media reported that Pedro was linked to Swiss bank accounts with 500 million EUR in circulation. Aside from overstaying, he was also accused of running crypto investment scams, credit card fraud, and passport forgery.

The whereabouts of Pedro's wife and suspected accomplice, Daniela Pimenta, a Portuguese reality TV star, and their four children were not disclosed.

A friend of a fraud victim told Portuguese magazine FLASH!: ‘They have cheated several landlords and never pay the rent. Now, they go from hotel to hotel, with reservations made in Daniela's name, but they never manage to stay long because they don't pay.'

They lived on the money obtained through the scam and fraud scheme.

The source added: ‘For a long time, they managed to finance themselves with the money from the scams without leaving a trace. They used the cleaning maids to make the payments they needed, but they were no longer able to pay them.

Police Lieutenant General Panumas Boonyaluk, commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, said: ‘The suspect will be prosecuted and put on the blacklist before being deported to Portugal to face charges there.'