Thailand goes after South African couple in alleged $30m investment fraud
A Thai criminal court has issued arrest warrants for a South African businessman and his wife over alleged cross-border investment fraud and money laundering, after a foreign investor was reportedly swindled out of more than $30 million.
Thailand’s Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) said Ben Smith, 47 and his wife, Cattaliya Beevor, 40, are accused of running fraudulent investment schemes dating back to 2016.
Investigators allege the couple persuaded an unnamed foreign national to channel funds into a series of purported ventures, including stock market investments, property developments, energy projects and the purchase of a private jet.
Authorities said the suspects cultivated credibility over time, promising returns of up to 11%, before the victim transferred more than one billion baht (approximately $31.8 million).
The Criminal Court approved warrants on charges of fraud and money laundering.
The CIB said the case formed part of a broader effort to dismantle transnational scam operations that have proliferated across mainland Southeast Asia in recent years.
Smith was previously linked to alleged scam networks operating out of Cambodia, an epicentre of a fast-growing illicit industry that has drawn increasing regional and international scrutiny.
Last week, Thailand’s Anti-Money Laundering Office said it had moved to seize assets worth more than $410 million connected to Smith and other individuals under investigation in related fraud cases.
Thailand's Prime Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, said the warrants were consistent with the government’s policy of pursuing financial crime “regardless of who they are.”
In December, Anutin acknowledged he knew Smith but said they were not close.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
