By The Straits Times | Created at 2026-06-18 12:10:33 | Updated at 2026-06-18 17:15:10
5 hours ago
BANGKOK - Thailand is auctioning off a luxury yacht seized from a foreign businessman accused of fraud and money laundering who has also been linked to Cambodian scam operations, authorities said on June 18.
The yacht will be sold next week with a starting price of US$18.3 million (S$23.6 million), after being seized from Ben Smith and his wife Cattaliya Beevor, a spokesperson for the Anti-Money Laundering Office told AFP.
The couple are on the run, accused by Thai police of involvement in a cross-border investment fraud scheme dating back to 2016.
Media reports have previously linked Smith, a South African also known as Benjamin Mauerberger, to transnational scam operations in Cambodia, part of a multibillion-dollar illicit industry that has ballooned in the region.
The Anti-Money Laundering Office said it would hold an auction for the Atlas yacht and a Strider speedboat, also seized from Smith and given a starting price of US$247,000, on June 23 on the resort island of Phuket.
“Interested parties are welcome to participate in the auction,” the agency said in a statement posted on Facebook.
Thailand regularly auctions off seized assets, with the proceeds transferred to the state.
In March, a criminal court issued arrest warrants for Smith and his wife on fraud and money-laundering charges and ordered the seizure of assets worth more than US$410 million.
Thai police said then they would work with Interpol to seek a Red Notice alert to help locate Smith, who was last recorded entering Thailand in 2025. AFP
