Scam-linked yachts worth B608m to be auctioned in Phuket on June 23

Thailand’s Anti-Money Laundering Office is preparing to auction two yachts linked to a transnational scam case in Phuket on June 23, including the 51-metre superyacht Atlas with a reported value of 600 million baht.

Amlo said the Atlas, registered in the Cayman Islands, carries the call sign ZGCB4 and registration number 743656. A second vessel, Atlas Strider, will also be auctioned, with bidding to start at 8.1 million baht.

Interested buyers will be able to inspect the vessels on June 22. The Atlas will be available for viewing at the Visit Panwa pier, while Atlas Strider can be viewed at Phuket Yacht Haven marina.

The public auction is scheduled to begin at 11am on June 23 at Phuket provincial hall on Chaofa Road in Muang district.

According to Amlo, the Atlas was seized at Phuket Island Marina on Dec 25, 2025, three days after the agency issued a confiscation order. The yacht was originally launched in 2011 as the Aldabra before being renamed by a new owner.

Amlo has said the vessel was related to transnational call-centre scams involving a Thai woman identified as Taengthai and other unnamed people. The agency did not identify her as the yacht’s owner.

The Bangkok Post report said the yacht was reportedly owned by South African financier Benjamin Mauerberger, who has been linked to Ms Taengthai and is wanted by Thai authorities for money laundering and other offences tied to Cambodian scams.

The investigative news site Whale Hunting has described the Atlas as one of three yachts owned by Mr Mauerberger. The report said he fled Thailand for Dubai last year, later sailed for the Seychelles, and his current whereabouts are unknown.