Rangsiman Rom praised the Central Investigation Bureau for issuing arrest warrants for Ben Smith and his wife. He said he would continue to follow whether a red notice will be issued to capture them. He also questioned why the Central Investigation Bureau, Cyber Police, and Anti-Money Laundering Office have yet to make progress in the major Huione Pay case, even though information is already available.
On 2 March 2026, Mr. Rangsiman Rom, a prospective party-list MP from the Prachachon Party, commented on the news of arrest warrants issued for Mr. Ben Smith, also known as Benjamin Mauerberger, and his wife.
Rangsiman Rom praised the Central Investigation Bureau for handling the case leading to the issuance of the arrest warrants, noting that arresting Ben Smith and his wife was not easy and required extensive time and processes to succeed. He urged all involved to learn lessons and improve work methods to be faster, since capturing important criminals like Ben Smith might be impossible if the process takes too long; they could flee and transfer most of their assets.
He said that although there has been some progress in this case and the Central Investigation Bureau deserves praise, it is still concerning how major cases will conclude. For example, despite the Anti-Money Laundering Office seizing assets worth over ten billion baht and the Central Investigation Bureau issuing arrest warrants in foreign investor fraud cases, the main Huione Pay case shows almost no concrete progress.
Despite the case's scale and involvement of enormous assets (money flowing through Huione's platform amounts to 3.3 trillion baht), ignoring it cannot dismantle the scammer network or truly return money to victims.
Rangsiman said the Central Investigation Bureau previously conducted the Skyfall operation, arresting some suspects—mostly minor players. In that operation, they found Wallet data linked to offenses, with the Wallets involved believed to exceed 100 million US dollars. This is only one Wallet, and Huione has many more.
In his role on the Security Committee, Rangsiman invited the Minister of Digital Economy and Society, Mr. Chaichanok Chidchob, the Anti-Money Laundering Office, the Central Investigation Bureau, and Cyber Police to brief the committee. All information was passed to government agencies regarding how Ben Smith's network (particularly Katliya Beaver) is involved.
He expressed confusion over why such a major case has not seriously progressed. Huione information is not only with the Central Investigation Bureau; Cyber Police also have data. This led him to suspect that if Huione were seriously exposed, it might reveal not only scammer money flows but also possible links to drug trafficking or money laundering involving powerful figures in Thailand, possibly explaining the case's stagnation.
Rangsiman lamented the case, saying it was an opportunity for Thailand to seize vast assets and return them to victims. It was also a golden chance to prosecute Mr. Hunto, a cousin of Hoon Manet, directly linked to Huione's business. Therefore, he wants explanations from the Central Investigation Bureau, Cyber Police, and Anti-Money Laundering Office on why the case has stalled. This issue has been raised for over six months, during which those involved could have transferred assets extensively, not only Ben Smith and his wife but also others related, who also had time to clear themselves. He recalled that an advisor to Major Thammanat once said Ben Smith had business dealings with several Thai politicians, a fact awaiting further investigation.
He concluded by saying that regardless of how this ends, it is important to watch whether a red notice will be requested to apprehend Ben Smith and his wife. He hopes those involved will act swiftly because the public is closely watching how seriously Thai authorities will pursue this matter.