Thailand moves to seize US$1 billion in scam assets from money laundering group

Thai authorities have vowed to seize more than US$1 billion in assets from a group accused of laundering proceeds from Southeast Asia-based scam syndicates.

A criminal court issued arrest warrants on Tuesday for the alleged ringleader, South African Benjamin Mauerberger, his Thai wife Cattaliya Beevor, Cambodian businessman Yim Leak and four others, police said.

Media reports have previously linked Smith, also known as Ben Smith, to transnational scam operations in Cambodia, part of a multibillion-dollar illicit industry that has ballooned in the region.

Yim Leak, who denies the charge, belongs to an elite political family and is the brother of a senior Cambodian police official. Mauerberger, Cattaliya, Yim Leak and three others have fled Thailand, according to the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission.

Thai anti-money laundering officials and securities regulators told reporters on Tuesday that illicit proceeds from criminal enterprises were moved by the group through overseas financial firms before being traded for stocks on the Thai stock exchange.

The Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) would seize assets, including shares worth more than 14 billion baht (US$415 million), and real estate, cash and vehicles valued at 21 billion baht, totalling more than US$1 billion, police said in a statement.

The seizures included shares in major Thai firms, including Bangchak, one of the country’s biggest oil refiners, according to AMLO deputy head Kamonsit Wongbutnoi. Bangchak said in a statement that the asset seizures concerned individual investors and business operations were unaffected.

Confiscated assets would go towards compensating victims of online scams, Kamonsit told reporters.

The group of seven was charged with conspiracy to launder money and acting as a criminal organisation, police said.

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Lanny Davis, a spokesman for Yim Leak, said the accusations against the Cambodian businessman were “100 per cent false”.

“There isn’t a shred of truth that he’s ever been involved in scam operations in Thailand, in Cambodia or anywhere else,” Davis said. He said Yim Leak denied the charge and challenged the Thai government to provide “any evidence of his knowledge or involvement” in scam operations.

An October 8 statement issued by Yim Leak’s lawyers accused Thai officials of conducting a trial by media against him before he was charged. It said Thailand froze more than US$600 million in assets, including his family’s, without a hearing.

A lawyer for Mauerberger, Witoon Kengngan, declined to comment on Wednesday.

In February, Thai authorities ordered the seizure of assets worth more than US$410 million from Smith and other individuals accused of fraud.

Thai opposition lawmaker Rangsiman Rome, who is being sued by Mauerberger for defamation over comments he made about scams, said on Wednesday the fresh seizures and arrest warrants were “a positive development … even if it’s taken a while”.