Civil Court Temporarily Seizes Assets Worth 13.07 Billion THB from 'Yim Leak, Kok An, Ben Smith' Scam Group
The Civil Court has temporarily seized assets worth 13,074 million THB in a fraud case involving the scam group "Yim Leak, Ben Smith, Chen Zhi, Kok An," pending further review
On February 27, 2026, Wittaya Nititham, Assistant Secretary-General of the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) and spokesperson for the office, announced that during the 2nd Transaction Committee meeting on February 11, 2026, the committee resolved to send a request to the Attorney General’s office to file a petition with the court, requesting that the assets be declared state property. This followed the review of a request to lift the temporary seizure and asset freeze, as there was insufficient evidence to suggest that the seized assets were not related to criminal activities.
On February 17, 2026, Theppasu Bavornchotidara, Secretary-General of AMLO, assigned officials to send the case files to the Special Cases Prosecutor's Office of the Office of the Attorney General, requesting the court to order the assets to be declared state property in four major cases, with an estimated value of 13,074 million THB
The Prosecutor's Office has since filed a petition with the Civil Court, requesting that the assets in the four cases be declared state property. The Civil Court, after reviewing the prosecutor's evidence during the preliminary hearing, found sufficient grounds to believe that there may have been attempts to transfer, sell, or conceal assets linked to criminal activities.
As a result, the Civil Court issued an order to temporarily seize and freeze the assets until further court rulings are made, under Section 55 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act B.E. 2542. The AMLO Secretary-General is authorized to oversee the seizure and preservation of the assets, with notification sent to the concerned parties. The details of the four cases are as follows:
Case of Ms. Tangthai, Mr. LEAK YIM, Ms. Warinya, Mr. SMITH BEN, and Ms. Catriya: The Civil Court accepted this case under case number 31/2569. On February 26, 2026, the court issued an order to temporarily seize and freeze assets, with an estimated value of approximately 12,123 million THB, as submitted by AMLO to the Attorney General's Office.
Case of Mr. Chen Zhi and others: The Civil Court accepted this case under case number F 25/2569. On February 25, 2026, the court issued an order to temporarily seize and freeze assets, with an estimated value of approximately 345 million THB, as submitted by AMLO to the Attorney General’s Office.
Case of Mr. Kok An and others: The Civil Court accepted this case under case number F 29/2569. On February 25, 2026, the court issued an order to temporarily seize and freeze assets, with an estimated value of approximately 560 million THB, as submitted by AMLO to the Attorney General's Office.
Case of Mr. Uea Angkoon and others: The Civil Court accepted this case under case number F 20/2569. On February 24, 2026, the court issued an order to temporarily seize and freeze assets, with an estimated value of approximately 46 million THB, as submitted by AMLO to the Attorney General's Office.
In the event that any of the seized assets in these four cases are deemed unsuitable for retention, such as vehicles or yachts, or if their retention would impose a burden on the government, the AMLO Secretary-General may order the sale of such assets and retain the proceeds as cash, in accordance with Section 57 (2) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act B.E. 2542.
Additionally, if victims of the underlying criminal activities in these cases are identified, AMLO will gather evidence as required by law and submit the case to the Attorney General’s office to request that the court order the return of funds or assets to the victims, instead of declaring them as state property.
