Thailand’s biggest scam fail

Following the recent arrest and extradition of Chinese tycoon Chen Zhi from Cambodia to China, the Thai Enquirer Facebook page reports that People’s Party MP Rangsiman Rome has asked why Thailand has taken so little action against the related party, Ben Smith, also known as Benjamin Mauerberger.

Rangsiman. Clipped from the Bangkok Post

Chen Zhi was the chairman of the Cambodia-based Prince Holding Group that was sanctioned by the US and Britain over allegations of links to large-scale online scam operations in Southeast Asia.

Rangsiman has “questioned Thai authorities over why Ben Smith, whom he alleges is involved in laundering proceeds from scam operations, has not been arrested or investigated…”. He continued:

While Chen Zhi has been arrested and extradited to China, Ben Smith — who is allegedly the ringleader of money laundering in Thailand for scam networks — has gone unpunished. No arrest warrant has been issued, no Red Notice requested. So, in summary, is the police just letting this happen? Did someone request it? Who is it?

Mauerberger “has been publicly linked by opposition politicians to alleged money-laundering tied to scam syndicates.” To date, “Thai authorities … say Smith has not been charged, is not subject to an arrest warrant, and currently has no evidence directly linking him to scam centres.”

For most reasonable people, this should lead to head scratching. In Thailand, however, reasonable people would shake their heads, knowing that the rich and powerful protect each other, only giving up a friendly financier when the trail gets too hot or when vengeance is a motive.