This story by Mong Palatino originally appeared on Global Voices on 15 October 2025
Defamation charges were filed against an opposition Member of Parliament (MP) in Thailand and an investigative media outlet for linking a businessman to an alleged transnational scam network involving politicians and influential individuals from Cambodia and Thailand.
The news outlet Whale Hunting, known for its anti-corruption reports, published a series of reports in late September exposing the alleged role of South African businessman Benjamin Mauerberger in a USD 1.5 billion money laundering network tied to Cambodian scam centers. The reports also examined Mauerberger’s connections to high-profile political and business circles in Thailand.
Opposition MP Rangsiman Rome cited these reports in a Parliamentary session and accused “Ben Smith” (an alleged alias of Mauerberger) of being a scammer, call center operator, and grey capitalist.
He warned that Thailand “faces serious threats from transnational scammer networks using opaque funds — financial flows that are not outright illegal but move through complex channels to evade oversight, conceal beneficiaries, or gain influence.” He added that Thailand could become a “money printing machine” for grey capital.
In a press conference, he called for urgent action to stop the criminal operation:
Mauerberger has denied the allegations against him and dismissed the exposé as “fiction created with the sole intention of destroying me and my family.” In a statement, he said he has filed a defamation suit against Tom Wright, the co-founder of Whale Hunting.
Mauerberger has also filed a similar complaint against MP Rangsiman Rome. Mauerberger’s lawyer is the legal adviser of Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Thammanat Prompao, who has also threatened to file charges against Wright and other journalists who reported the allegations. Thammanat was not named in the Whale Hunting reports, but Thai journalists identified him in photos of Mauerberger having dinner meetings with Thai officials.
Thammanat issued a strongly worded statement against his accusers.
He also has a warning to journalists:
Rangsiman Rome questioned the motive for filing defamation charges: “Is this really about damage to reputation, or is it an attempt to silence criticism and protect something bigger?”
In a post on X, Wright underscored the seriousness of the issue.
In a post published on Whale Hunting, Bradley Hope described Thammanat’s actions as “darkly comedic,” since a sitting government minister is suggesting “he’ll use the international fugitive alert system designed to catch terrorists and murderers to go after people who dare to ask inconvenient questions.” The writer noted the “absurdity of invoking Interpol Red Notices as if they’re parking tickets he can hand out to annoying journalists.”
Shawn Crispin of the Committee to Protect Journalists has called out Thammanat for weaponizing the law against the media.
Mauerberger has reportedly left Thailand but has already initiated complaints against Rangsiman and Wright.
(NS)
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