ASEAN Beat | Politics | Southeast Asia

Thailand Announces Further Asset Seizures in Widening Scam Probe

The assets were connected to a network surrounding the South African businessman Benjamin Mauerberger, who is wanted on fraud and money laundering charges.

Seized vehicles belonging to people involved with an alleged money-laundering network are parked outside the Anti‑Money Laundering Office (AMLO) in Bangkok, Thailand, Apr. 9, 2026.

Thai authorities have seized a further 8.3 billion baht ($260 million) in assets belonging to people involved with an alleged money-laundering network linked to Cambodia-based cyber scam operations.

In a multi-agency briefing at the Anti‑Money Laundering Office (AMLO) in Bangkok yesterday, officials announced that the seizure included cash, six cars, bank deposits, and other securities, the Bangkok Post reported.

Speaking at the briefing, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who also serves as interior minister, said that the operation, which is part of a broader investigation into Cambodia-based transnational crime groups, had targeted assets connected to a number of individuals. Among these were the Cambodian businessman Yim Leak and his wife Veereenyah (Wirinya) Yim, the South African businessman Benjamin Mauerberger (aka Ben Smith) and his wife Cattaliya Beevor, and further associates. It also included a Thai woman identified only as Tangthai, whom investigators previously alleged has handled financial transactions on behalf of Yim Leak and Mauerberger.

Anutin said that the seizures brought the total value of assets confiscated in the anti-scam investigation to more than 20 billion baht (around $620 million), revealing the extent of the damage caused by transnational scam networks operating in mainland Southeast Asia.

“These are enormous sums amassed by criminal groups whose illegal activities have harmed the economy and victimised the public,” he said, as per the Post.

In recent months, Thai investigators have been building a case against Mauerberger, who has been accused of playing a central role in helping to launder money for Cambodia-based scam syndicates. The South African was previously the subject of a rolling investigation by investigative journalists Tom Wright and Bradley Hope, who, as reporters for the Wall Street Journal, helped break the story of Malaysia’s 1MDB corruption scandal.

In a series of reports published on their Whale Hunting newsletter last year, Wright and Hope alleged that Mauerberger was a central node in a complex financial web involving prominent Cambodian and Thai political figures, some of them linked to the online scamming industry.

Thai officials have been slow to act on the allegations. In early 2025, Thai officials belatedly began to take action against online scamming operations in Myanmar and Cambodia, in part due to growing pressure from China to tackle the issue. The outbreak of a border conflict with Cambodia last year then encouraged Thai politicians to open more aggressive investigations into Cambodian officials and tycoons believed to be involved with cyber-scam operations.

The problem is that this then brought scrutiny to bear on Thailand’s important gateway function in the criminal ecosystem that enmeshes mainland Southeast Asia. In October, Anutin’s deputy finance minister, Vorapak Tanyawong, resigned after the Whale Hunting newsletter published a report alleging that Vorapak’s wife had received $3 million in cryptocurrency from the Chinese-Cambodian criminal network linked to Mauerberger. The opposition People’s Party also accused Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Thammanat Prompow, who was previously convicted of drug trafficking in Australia, of links to Mauerberger. Both Vorapak and Thammanat have denied any connection to scam operations.

Shortly afterward, Anutin was embarrassed by the publication of a series of old photos of he and other senior Thai politicians having dinner with Mauerberger. Coupled with the allegations against Vorapak and Thammanat, the photos raised obvious questions about the complicity of Thai elites in the industrial-scale scamming taking place next door in Cambodia.

As a result, Anutin has come under pressure to take a hard line on the scamming issue. In late February, the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) finally obtained arrest warrants for Mauerberger and his wife on charges of joint fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and joint money laundering. Then, last month, Anutin instructed police to coordinate with Interpol to seek a red notice for Mauerberger’s arrest.

In October, Mauerberger fled Thailand for Dubai and, according to Whale Hunting, has since moved on to the Seychelles in a bid to avoid arrest.

The fresh raids suggest that Anutin feels the need to clamp down on the scourge of “grey money” in Thai politics, and it is likely that more seizures and raids will follow. The real question, as ever, is how high up the chain investigators will be willing or able to move. As Wright posted on X today, despite the welcome recent actions against Mauerberger, “the politicians who gave him cover remain untouched.”

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Thai authorities have seized a further 8.3 billion baht ($260 million) in assets belonging to people involved with an alleged money-laundering network linked to Cambodia-based cyber scam operations.

In a multi-agency briefing at the Anti‑Money Laundering Office (AMLO) in Bangkok yesterday, officials announced that the seizure included cash, six cars, bank deposits, and other securities, the Bangkok Post reported.

Speaking at the briefing, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who also serves as interior minister, said that the operation, which is part of a broader investigation into Cambodia-based transnational crime groups, had targeted assets connected to a number of individuals. Among these were the Cambodian businessman Yim Leak and his wife Veereenyah (Wirinya) Yim, the South African businessman Benjamin Mauerberger (aka Ben Smith) and his wife Cattaliya Beevor, and further associates. It also included a Thai woman identified only as Tangthai, whom investigators previously alleged has handled financial transactions on behalf of Yim Leak and Mauerberger.

Anutin said that the seizures brought the total value of assets confiscated in the anti-scam investigation to more than 20 billion baht (around $620 million), revealing the extent of the damage caused by transnational scam networks operating in mainland Southeast Asia.

“These are enormous sums amassed by criminal groups whose illegal activities have harmed the economy and victimised the public,” he said, as per the Post.

In recent months, Thai investigators have been building a case against Mauerberger, who has been accused of playing a central role in helping to launder money for Cambodia-based scam syndicates. The South African was previously the subject of a rolling investigation by investigative journalists Tom Wright and Bradley Hope, who, as reporters for the Wall Street Journal, helped break the story of Malaysia’s 1MDB corruption scandal.

In a series of reports published on their Whale Hunting newsletter last year, Wright and Hope alleged that Mauerberger was a central node in a complex financial web involving prominent Cambodian and Thai political figures, some of them linked to the online scamming industry.

Thai officials have been slow to act on the allegations. In early 2025, Thai officials belatedly began to take action against online scamming operations in Myanmar and Cambodia, in part due to growing pressure from China to tackle the issue. The outbreak of a border conflict with Cambodia last year then encouraged Thai politicians to open more aggressive investigations into Cambodian officials and tycoons believed to be involved with cyber-scam operations.

The problem is that this then brought scrutiny to bear on Thailand’s important gateway function in the criminal ecosystem that enmeshes mainland Southeast Asia. In October, Anutin’s deputy finance minister, Vorapak Tanyawong, resigned after the Whale Hunting newsletter published a report alleging that Vorapak’s wife had received $3 million in cryptocurrency from the Chinese-Cambodian criminal network linked to Mauerberger. The opposition People’s Party also accused Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Thammanat Prompow, who was previously convicted of drug trafficking in Australia, of links to Mauerberger. Both Vorapak and Thammanat have denied any connection to scam operations.

Shortly afterward, Anutin was embarrassed by the publication of a series of old photos of he and other senior Thai politicians having dinner with Mauerberger. Coupled with the allegations against Vorapak and Thammanat, the photos raised obvious questions about the complicity of Thai elites in the industrial-scale scamming taking place next door in Cambodia.

As a result, Anutin has come under pressure to take a hard line on the scamming issue. In late February, the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) finally obtained arrest warrants for Mauerberger and his wife on charges of joint fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and joint money laundering. Then, last month, Anutin instructed police to coordinate with Interpol to seek a red notice for Mauerberger’s arrest.

In October, Mauerberger fled Thailand for Dubai and, according to Whale Hunting, has since moved on to the Seychelles in a bid to avoid arrest.

The fresh raids suggest that Anutin feels the need to clamp down on the scourge of “grey money” in Thai politics, and it is likely that more seizures and raids will follow. The real question, as ever, is how high up the chain investigators will be willing or able to move. As Wright posted on X today, despite the welcome recent actions against Mauerberger, “the politicians who gave him cover remain untouched.”

Sebastian Strangio is Southeast Asia editor at The Diplomat. 

Cambodia scam operations

Online scamming operations

Thailand scam operations

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