Thailand vows to seize over $1.28 billion from accused scam money launderers

BANGKOK - The Thai authorities have vowed to seize more than US$1 billion (S$1.28 billion) in assets from a group accused of laundering proceeds from scam syndicates based in South-east Asia.A criminal court issued arrest warrants on Oct 27 for the alleged ringleader, South African Ben Smith, his Thai wife Cattaliya Beevor, Cambodian businessman Yim Leak and four others, the police said.Senior police investigator Ratthachin Jermsap told AFP news agency that Smith and Yim Leak were believed to have left Thailand.Media reports have previously linked Smith, also known as Benjamin Mauerberger, to transnational scam operations in Cambodia, part of a multibillion-dollar illicit industry that has ballooned in the region.Yim Leak belongs to an elite political family and is the brother of a senior Cambodian police official.Thai anti-money laundering officials and securities regulators told reporters on Oct 27 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) will seize assets, including shares worth more than 14 billion baht (S$531.9 billion), 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 were charged with conspiracy to launder money and acting as a criminal organisation, the police said.A representative for Yim Leak did not respond to questions about the charges on Oct 28 but referred AFP to an Oct 8 statement issued by his lawyers.It accused Thai officials of conducting a trial by media against Yim Leak 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 Smith, Witoon Kengngan, declined to comment.In February, the 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 Smith for defamation over comments he made about scams, told AFP on Oct 28 the fresh seizures and arrest warrants were “a positive development... even if it’s taken a while”. AFP