The auction, listed as Auction No. 9/2569, will be held at Phuket Provincial Hall on Tuesday (June 23). Registration will open at 9:30am, with bidding scheduled to begin at 11am.
Also going under the hammer is the ‘Strider’, equipped with an Air Berth lifting system, with a starting price of B8.1mn.
Prospective buyers will be able to inspect the vessels on Monday (June 22) from 10am to 3pm. ‘Atlas’ will be available for viewing at Visit Panwa Pier, while ‘Strider’ will be berthed at Phuket Yacht Haven Marina, AMLO said in its announcement.
The auction follows AMLO’s seizure of ‘Atlas’ in December last year as part of an investigation into a transnational online scam network accused of causing more than B9 billion in losses.
At the time, AMLO said the Cayman Islands-registered yacht, valued at about B1.125bn, was among the key assets linked to a money laundering investigation involving a Thai woman identified only as ‘Taengthai’ and other suspects.
The agency said financial investigators traced funds used to acquire the yacht to proceeds from online call-centre scams that were allegedly laundered through nominee owners, proxy accounts and third-party financial operators before being invested in high-value assets.
According to a report by the Bangkok Post, ‘Atlas’ is reportedly owned by South African financier Benjamin Mauerberger, who is wanted by Thai authorities on fraud and money laundering charges linked to Cambodian scam operations.
The newspaper reported that Thai police are working with Interpol to locate Mauerberger after he allegedly fled Thailand last year. In March, the Criminal Court issued arrest warrants and ordered the seizure of assets worth more than US$410mn connected to the case.
AMLO has invited members of the public and interested buyers to participate in the auction and said further information is available through its website or by calling its 1710 hotline.