AMLO to auction Bt600m luxury yacht seized in Ben Smith case
Thailand’s Anti-Money Laundering Office will auction two seized luxury yachts in Phuket, led by ATLAS with a starting price of Bt600 million.
The Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) is inviting interested bidders to take part in a public auction of two luxury yachts seized as assets linked to a major money-laundering and scammer-network investigation.
The auction, AMLO’s ninth public asset sale of 2026, will be held on June 23, 2026, at Phuket Provincial Hall.
Registration will open at 9.30am, with bidding scheduled to begin from 11am onwards.
The main asset is the luxury yacht ATLAS, with a starting bid of 600 million baht. A second yacht, STRIDER, together with an Air Berth boat-storage system, will have a starting price of 8.1 million baht.
AMLO is allowing interested bidders to inspect the assets before the auction on June 22, 2026, from 10am to 3pm, to assess their condition and value before joining the bidding.
The ATLAS is described as a 51-metre pleasure yacht registered in the Cayman Islands, while the STRIDER is listed as a supporting yacht linked to the larger vessel.
Those interested can study the auction details, rules and conditions via AMLO’s official website or call the AMLO hotline at 1710.
The auction is being seen as an opportunity for investors and business operators interested in acquiring luxury yachts through a transparent legal process at competitive bidding prices.
The two vessels are among assets seized by AMLO as part of its continuing crackdown on scammer networks.
AMLO previously said it had seized and frozen assets in several major cases linked to call-centre gangs, public fraud and habitual fraud offences, with the total value exceeding 10.16 billion baht.
Investigators later expanded their inquiries and found additional assets believed to be connected to the alleged scammer networks.
Reports said the ATLAS, a 2017 yacht registered in the Cayman Islands, was an asset reportedly belonging to the current wife of Ben Smith. Smith has been linked by investigators to a wider network connected with Yim Liak, a Cambodian businessman and banker accused of involvement in grey businesses and cross-border fraud networks.
Thai media earlier reported that the Central Investigation Bureau had issued arrest warrants for Ben Smith and his wife in an alleged cross-border investment scam, while AMLO had pursued asset seizure measures involving Smith and related networks.
