Thai authorities have seized and frozen assets worth 35.8 billion baht in their ongoing investigation into an alleged international money-laundering network linked to South African businessman Benjamin Mauerberger and Cambodia-born entrepreneur Yim Leak.
Investigators say the network moved the proceeds of criminal activity through Cambodian banks and overseas investment funds before using them to acquire major stakes in companies listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand.
The seized assets include about 14.8 billion baht worth of shares in companies including Bangchak Corporation, VGI and MFC Asset Management.
Senior officials from the police, the Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the results of the operation at a briefing on Tuesday in Bangkok.
Police said the investigation developed from a case involving the alleged defrauding of a Lao businessman and a scammer network.
Pol Maj Gen Thassaphoom Charuprat, commander of the Economic Crime Suppression Division, said Mr Mauerberger, also known as Ben Smith, had previously been barred by New Zealand authorities from working as a securities broker for seven years.
Mr Mauerberger, 48, subsequently spent several years living in Bangkok, where he cultivated contacts at the highest levels of government and politics. All the while, authorities have alleged, he was playing a central role in the money-laundering operation.
The South African businessman and his Thai wife fled Thailand in September 2025 ahead of a major police investigation and parliamentary probes into the network. Police have charged the couple with fraud and money laundering causing about 1 billion baht in damages.
Investigators identified three phases in the alleged money-laundering operation. From 2019 to 2021, the network used personal accounts belonging to members and their relatives, as well as corporate accounts, to receive funds.
In 2022 and 2023, money was transferred directly from Cambodia into accounts linked to the network in Thailand before being moved to Singapore-based investment funds.
From 2024 to 2025, B.I.C. Bank in Cambodia transferred tens of billions of baht to Capital Asia Investments (CAI), a Singapore-licensed fund management firm, to purchase substantial stakes in Thai-listed companies. Details of the acquisitions have been documented exhaustively by the investigative news site Whale Hunting.
“Authorities have obtained arrest warrants for seven suspects on charges including money laundering, conspiracy to launder money, involvement in a criminal association and violations of the Securities and Exchange Act,” Pol Maj Gen Thassaphoom said.
The suspects are Mr Mauerberger, his wife Cattaliya Beevor, Yim Leak, Suparat Sanga-mueang, Singaporean Eugene Tang, Australian Kai Ping Chen and Nattakorn Athithanawanich. The first six are believed to be overseas and are the subjects of Interpol red notices, police said.
Mr Nattakorn was questioned and charged on Monday before being released. Officers also searched four locations, seizing loan agreements, investment fund and cryptocurrency documents, ledger devices and computers, he said.
Amlo deputy secretary-general Kamonsit Wongbutnoi said a yacht, cars, bank deposits and land were seized along with the shares.
The measures are intended to enable the recovery of assets connected with the alleged offences. Victims can seek compensation through civil proceedings without waiting for the criminal case to reach a final conclusion, he said.
SEC secretary-general Pornanong Budsaratragoon said investigators had found irregularities involving VGI shares issued through private placements to three groups of foreign funds, worth 8.85 billion baht.
The beneficial owners were reported to be groups linked to Yim Leak, Ms Cattaliya and Ms Suparat, acting at Mr Mauerberger’s direction.
They held over 25% without reporting their holdings or making a mandatory tender offer, potentially violating the Securities and Exchange Act, Ms Pornanong said.