A luxury superyacht seized from fugitive financier Benjamin Mauerberger is due for auction at a starting price of US$18 million on Tuesday, as authorities seek to claw back money from powerful money laundering networks across Thailand.
Mauerberger and his wife, Cattaliya Beevor, are wanted by Thai police on fraud and money laundering charges, linked to what prosecutors allege was a bogus investment scheme stretching back to 2016.
The highly connected South African businessman is also believed to be at the heart of a network moving vast sums of cash from scam centres in Cambodia into Thai property, listed companies and other investment vehicles across Southeast Asia.
Nearly US$700 million worth of assets have been seized in Thailand so far, much of it linked to Mauerberger. These include shares in major corporations, properties, luxury cars and yachts – an example of what financial experts say are the vast pools of dirty money sloshing through the kingdom’s economy.
Thai police say the pair fled the kingdom as investigators sought them out over the decade-old allegations of investment fraud. Their whereabouts remain unclear, with unconfirmed reports saying they have sought sanctuary in Dubai.
As part of its four-day auction that starts on Tuesday, Thailand’s Anti-Money Laundering Office will “conduct a sale by public auction” of the 51-metre superyacht called Atlas and a speedboat – considered “assets connected with the commission of offences” – at separate Phuket marinas.