In recent days, foreign websitesScamuraiexposed a scandal shaking Thailand's Web3 industry. A former senior executive of KXVC, a $100 million (over 3.2 billion baht) Web3 and AI fund, was accused of defrauding investors with fake Token Allocation deals before disappearing with victims' money.
This sparked intense criticism on social media, with multiple victims coming forward. These victims are prominent individuals, including businesspeople, investors, and Web3 project developers well-versed in both traditional and future investment methods.
However, the stories revealed, along with what Thairath Money reporters learned from direct interviews with several victims and former colleagues closely working with the suspect, show that Jom began this operation in 2022 when he fully entered the Web3 world as a fund manager. He had access to exclusive deals, and current estimated damage is about $30 million (around 1 billion baht), affecting victims across several countries worldwide.
"Hundreds of millions of baht, with his abilities, position, and industry standing, if he had acted honestly, he would have earned it through integrity. No one would think someone of his stature would risk his reputation for something like this,"
most victims told Thairath Money when discussing Kampanat Wimonnot, known in the industry as "Jom."
In Thailand's startup and venture capital (VC) scene, the 37-year-old former executive is not a newcomer.According to LinkedIn data,he earned a master's degree in finance, specializing in investment analysis, from a prestigious UK university with a 4.00 GPA. He began his career as an Investment Banking Analyst at a leading Thai bank and accumulated years of experience in finance and investment, including roles at top global consulting and auditing firms (Big 4).
He then entered VC as an investment analyst for a venture builder focused on discovering and investing in startups and providing strategic advice to portfolio companies. Later, he was a founding member of a logistics startup that expanded services to Jakarta, Indonesia.
He built a reputation in investment through his work with Assend as Head of Venture Capital Investments. In 2017, he joined Krungsri Finnovate as Head of Investment, overseeing the organization's entire investment strategy and strategic partnerships, eventually becoming an Executive Director.
By mid-2022, he joined KX as Investment Director, before the company spun off KXVC in 2023, where he became Managing Director of a $100 million Web3 and AI fund.
During this time, he was often seen giving media interviews and speaking at major tech conferences in Thailand and abroad. Publicly, he appeared as a credible, expert young investor deeply embedded in the industry.
His prominent position and the backing of a reputable organization earned him high credibility among international investors and blockchain insiders.
If you are not part of the Web3 world, you might wonder why experienced, wealthy investors would transfer large sums to a single individual without any collateral.
The answer lies in the nature of crypto investments, which Jom exploited as his tool.
A blockchain industry source explained that in crypto, projects yet to launch tokens sell early investment quotas (Seed Round, Private Round, or KOL Round) to select investors. Those with these allocations can buy tokens at prices much lower than the market—for example, investing at $0.03 per token while market price at launch might reach $3, yielding up to 100 times profit.
However, tokens are locked for one to four years before gradually unlocking at the Token Generation Event (TGE). Investors must wait years to see if their deal pays off, creating a gap that Jom exploited to solicit investments easily.
These quotas circulate only within small, private groups via personal Telegram channels and investor networks. Those at the center are the "insiders" everyone wants to know and be invited by.
And Jom knew he was such an insider and leveraged this fully as a billion-baht venture capital executive. Thus, it was unsurprising he could secure Private Allocation quotas.
"I must say Jom is not stupid," a major Web3 investor told Thairath Money. What made this case different wasJom's strategic selection of victims. Multiple sources agreed he was intelligent, eloquent, and knew how to communicate with each person, understand their interests, and present accordingly.These soft skills would be excellent if used honestly.
From discussions with sources, Thairath Money identified at least three victim groups targeted by Jom.
The first victims were investors and entrepreneurs already in blockchain and crypto. This group knew Jom as a fintech figure for years, sometimes collaborating on technical support and project evaluations. Their relationship evolved from business partners to personal trust before Jom invited them to invest.
They understood Web3 well, recognized the projects Jom presented, and thus trusted them because everything seemed reasonable in their familiar context.
Sources noted Jom targeted different projects to different victims.
One victim recounted meeting Jom by chance at a startup event abroad in 2022, after Jom had joined KX. This connection arose from exchanging business cards and introductions. Knowing the victim’s interest in Layer 1 blockchain projects, Jom presented a private allocation deal using a pitch deck provided by the project’s founders specifically for KX.
The victim transferred over 30,000 USDT to Jom and provided a wallet address for token delivery upon project unlocking.
When Web3 insiders began uncovering the scam and demanding refunds, Jom shifted focus to wealthier but less crypto-savvy groups, including Web2 investors and traditional business networks. He systematically researched people’s backgrounds.
A former colleague and ex-KX employee told Thairath Money Jom had family connections to top entrepreneurs and investors in Thailand’s startup scene. He used these connections to access wealthy business figures by joining dinners and gatherings, sometimes unbeknownst to others that Jom was recruiting their acquaintances to invest.
The most tragic group comprised close associates, coworkers, and people who personally trusted him. A former coworker told Thairath Money that Jom borrowed money in April 2025, citing hospitalization, promising to repay by August but eventually vanished with the funds.
Several employees were also defrauded of millions in private allocation investment schemes.
From interviews and document collection, Thairath Money found Jom used a stepwise, consistent method to approach victims.
Jom presented startup projects that KXVC was supposedly about to invest in, claiming he had private allocation rights at presale prices usually inaccessible to retail investors, reserved for institutional or major investors.
Multiple victims said Jom cited special quotas obtained directly from founders or claimed "this project is targeted by KXVC," convincing victims this was an exclusive institutional insider deal featuring well-known projects.
Jom showed genuine pitch decks and project documents that KXVC had received, lending high credibility and leaving victims no reason to doubt.
When victims agreed to invest, Jom allegedly altered SAFT (Simple Agreement for Future Tokens) contracts originally made for KXVC by replacing the fund’s name with his own and attaching a copy of his passport, presenting these as legally valid investment contracts.
However, investigations revealed these documents were genuine contracts that had been forged. One victim said it took multiple requests to get a contract, which was poorly done, even misspelling his email as @gmailkl.com.
To be subtle, Jom strictly instructed victims not to share documents or inquire with project owners, citing business confidentiality between him and the projects. In VC, deal secrecy is normal, so victims complied without questions.
Later, some victims who knew project owners cross-checked and found no such deals existed.
Jom did not ask for large investments upfront but used psychology by privately messaging close contacts saying, "I have a private deal but am short by $3,000–5,000, can you help?" Out of respect as partners or colleagues, victims transferred money unwittingly, starting small amounts over years since 2023. One victim told Thairath Money he invested in over 15 projects, losing about 5 million baht gradually.
If victims refused, Jom employed new tactics like charging miscellaneous fees after investment. One victim who invested about $30,000 in three projects in April 2025 said when he declined new proposals, Jom demanded extra fees in the thousands of dollars, citing coin insurance, advisory, or quota rights fees.
Victims paid to avoid losing previous investments. When refusing extra payments, Jom switched to borrowing money directly, promising to buy tokens and repay the next day.
6. Falsely establishing a parallel fund
This fund supposedly raised money from individuals or high-net-worth persons to invest alongside the main fund or as a new upcoming fund. Some victims said Jom tempted them with no management fees but only performance fees.
Breaking point: the truth emerges
irregularities becoming apparent from late 2024 to early 2025, as projects reached Token Generation Event (TGE)—the day investors expect token delivery. Some projects distributed tokens to general market investors, but anyone who invested through Jom’s deals received nothing. When pressed, Jom deflected, citing delayed unlocking or changed conditions.
Some suspicious victims directly asked project founders, who denied granting Jom any private quotas or even knowing him.
One victim said when cornered, Jom’s final excuse to all was,
"I was scammed too." One of the most painful cases involved a victim investing in 2022 at about 5 cents per token. If Jom had actually invested the money, when the token price rose nearly 100 times to about $5, this victim should have received up to 50 million baht, but no tokens were delivered.
The victim last contacted Jom on 27 June 2025; afterward, Jom disappeared entirely. Another source said Jom’s last message was on 30 October 2025, an apology without admitting fraud, before vanishing.
Billion-baht losses spanning multiple countries
the principal loss is estimated at around $30 million (about 1 billion baht), excluding the value of crypto tokens victims should have received if the deals were real, which could be much higher. There are over 50 victims across Web2 and Web3 sectors in Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, the USA, Japan, and Israel, including well-known industry figures. Individual losses range from tens of thousands to millions of US dollars. One source analyzed for Thairath Money that Jom’s later methods fit a clear Ponzi-style operation: initially defrauding Web3 insiders, then when they demanded money back, shifting to new victims like Web2 investors to pay the old, continuously cycling funds.
As the Thai network became aware and Jom’s operations became harder, he expanded victim networks abroad. Some foreign investors lost between $500,000 and $1 million, according to multiple sources.
What did Jom do with such large sums? Why risk everything?
Another victim speculates Jom may not have initially intended a Ponzi scheme but lost money trading leveraged futures, then needed to keep raising funds by scamming others. Supporting this theory is Jom’s frequent messaging seeking market direction and asking about "Revenge Trading"—trading to recover losses.
Another source described Jom’s approach as a "zero or one game": if he succeeded and profited massively, he could repay everyone happily; if not, his entire scheme would collapse.
Regarding justice, many victims filed police reports; police issued summons twice and eventually arrest warrants.
However, Jom fled the country through immigration checkpoints one day before the police summons. It is suspected he traveled to Japan and might proceed to the USA. Someone claimed to have seen him in an Asian supermarket in Los Angeles, though this is unconfirmed. Meanwhile, victims have begun civil and criminal lawsuits.
When did KXVC become aware?
One former colleague said Jom resigned citing health issues, but it was later learned that concerns about his behavior were reported as early as March 2025. The publicly verifiable organizational timeline is as follows:
- 31 March 2025: Jom resigned, with team members told he had "health problems."
- 2 April 2025:
KX announced new executive appointments on LinkedIn, effective May 2025.
- 21 November 2025: KXVC announced on its website that Jom was no longer an employee, effective 31 March 2025.- December 2025: KXVC issued a warning about individuals impersonating the fund to solicit personal account transfers, affirming KXVC never raised funds from outsiders or authorized anyone to act on its behalf.However, this may not be the first or only such case in Thailand. Victims need to come forward to reduce losses and prevent recurrence of similar incidents.
