Thailand targets over $1B from accused scam money launderers

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 Tuesday for the alleged ring leader, South African Ben Smith, his Thai wife Cattaliya Beevor, Cambodian businessman Yim Leak and four others, police said.

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, who denies the charge, belongs to an elite political family and is the brother of a senior Cambodian police official.

Smith, Cattaliya, Yim Leak and three others have fled Thailand, the country's Securities and Exchange Commission said in a statement.

Thai anti-money laundering officials and securities regulators told reporters 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) will seize assets, including shares worth more than 14 billion baht, 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 organization, police said.

Lanny Davis, a spokesman for Yim Leak, said the accusations against the Cambodian businessman were "100 percent 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 told AFP.

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 Oct. 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 $600 million in assets, including his family's, without a hearing.

A lawyer for Smith, 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 Smith for defamation over comments he made about scams, told AFP on Wednesday the fresh seizures and arrest warrants were "a positive development... even if it's taken a while".