Thailand seizes and freezes B35.8 billion in assets linked to Mauerberger network
Authorities say the assets include B14.8 billion in Thai-listed shares, as police pursue seven suspects and regulators examine alleged breaches of shareholding rules.
Thai authorities have seized and frozen assets worth 35.8 billion baht in an investigation into an alleged international money-laundering network linked to South African businessman Benjamin Mauerberger and Cambodia-born entrepreneur Yim Leak.
The assets include about 14.8 billion baht in shares in Thai-listed companies, including Bangchak Corporation, VGI and MFC Asset Management. Police, the Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the operation at a briefing in Bangkok on Tuesday, 27 October, according to the Bangkok Post.
Investigators allege that the network channelled criminal proceeds through Cambodian banks and overseas investment funds before buying substantial stakes in companies on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. The authorities also seized a yacht, cars, bank deposits and land.
Investigators trace transfers through Cambodia and Singapore
Police said the investigation grew out of a case involving the alleged defrauding of a Lao businessman and a scammer network.
They identified three phases in the suspected laundering operation. Between 2019 and 2021, funds allegedly passed through personal accounts belonging to network members and their relatives, alongside corporate accounts.
In 2022 and 2023, investigators said, money moved directly from Cambodia into accounts linked to the network in Thailand before being transferred to Singapore-based investment funds.
During 2024 and 2025, Cambodia’s B.I.C. Bank allegedly transferred tens of billions of baht to Capital Asia Investments, a Singapore-licensed fund management firm, to acquire substantial holdings in Thai-listed companies.
Mauerberger, also known as Ben Smith, and his Thai wife, Cattaliya Beevor, left Thailand in September 2025. Police have charged the couple with fraud and money laundering involving alleged losses of about 1 billion baht. In an earlier account published by The Diplomat in September, Mauerberger’s lawyer described the underlying fraud case as a civil dispute over a share purchase agreement.
Seven suspects face arrest warrants
Pol Maj Gen Thassaphoom Charuprat, commander of the Economic Crime Suppression Division, said authorities had obtained arrest warrants for seven suspects. The alleged offences include money laundering, conspiracy to launder money, involvement in a criminal association and breaches of the Securities and Exchange Act.
The suspects are Mauerberger, Cattaliya, Yim Leak, Suparat Sanga-mueang, Singaporean Eugene Tang, Australian Kai Ping Chen and Nattakorn Athithanawanich.
Police said the first six were believed to be overseas and were the subjects of Interpol red notices. Nattakorn was questioned and charged on Monday before being released.
Officers also searched four locations and seized loan agreements, investment fund and cryptocurrency documents, ledger devices and computers, Thassaphoom said.
Shareholding scrutiny and a route to compensation
SEC secretary-general Pornanong Budsaratragoon said investigators had identified irregularities involving 8.85 billion baht in VGI shares issued through private placements to three groups of foreign funds.
The beneficial owners were allegedly groups linked to Yim Leak, Cattaliya and Suparat, acting at Mauerberger’s direction. Pornanong said their combined holdings exceeded 25% without the required disclosure or a mandatory tender offer, potentially breaching the Securities and Exchange Act.
The reported findings concern the acquisition and disclosure of shareholdings; they do not establish wrongdoing by the listed companies whose shares were seized or frozen.
For people seeking recovery of losses connected with the alleged offences, Amlo deputy secretary-general Kamonsit Wongbutnoi said the asset measures were intended to support recovery. Victims can seek compensation through civil proceedings without waiting for the criminal case to reach a final conclusion, he said.
The seizures and freezes are asset-recovery measures, separate from the determination of the criminal allegations against the suspects.
