Korn posted a direct challenge to the SEC and AMLO, questioning why no arrest warrant has been issued for Ben Smith despite clear evidence of money laundering involving large-block stock transactions of Bangchak shares. He vowed to continue pushing to reclaim justice for the Thai people.
At 10:45 a.m. on 8 March 2026, Mr. Korn Chatikavanij, Deputy Leader of the Democrat Party, posted on Facebook with the headline "Expanding the investigation on Ben Smith" He stated that regardless of how the news fluctuates, the pursuit to verify facts and protect the interests of the Thai people regarding scammers and money laundering will not stop. Since last Friday, the case of asset seizure involving Mr. Ben Smith and associates has reached the court stage. As a Member of Parliament, he raised the question of why there is still no arrest warrant for Ben Smith in the money laundering case, despite most of the seized assets being shares of Bangchak Corporation, which the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) has traced back to "Capital Asia Investments (CAI) fund" This fund is linked to Ben Smith and serves as a "secret money source concealing ownership," which the Democrat Party has been monitoring for suspicious transactions.
"In this case, CAI was the seller of large blocks of Bangchak shares to Alpha Chartered Energy (ACE) multiple times, acting as the source of funds for sales payments, purchases, or direct transfers" All of which aimed to disguise the real owners. However, after AMLO verified the money trail and related evidence, it forwarded the case to the Attorney General’s Office for court proceedings to seize the assets.
Other assets of Ben Smith, his wife Ms. Catria Beaver, and associates—including land, cash, and more—have also been seized. What is strange is that neither the SEC nor AMLO has taken any action regarding other shares held by CAI or by Ben Smith’s wife, as shown in the attached table. Additionally, further steps should include tracing how these shares were acquired to identify any other involved parties or conspirators with Ben Smith and associates, as well as following the financial trail to see whose accounts received dividends and where payments were made," Korn noted.
Korn gave a straightforward example involving shares of two companies (BCP and GTV), which Ms. Catria Beaver still holds in her own name (publicly accessible information via the stock exchange). Yet, the SEC and AMLO have not acted. Similarly, shares of FSX held by Beteverse, which were fully purchased from Ms. Catria Beaver, and shares of FSX held by Rapidfire, fully purchased from B.I.C. (Cambodia) Bank (chaired by Mr. Yimleak), were traded at 4.22 baht, 170% above the market price of 1.55 baht, with ownership changes occurring the day before B.I.C. (Cambodia) Bank appeared on FSX’s shareholder registry on 21 March 2025. This information is also from the stock exchange. It raises questions about how payments were made for these large-block sales—whether funds were circulated within the same group or directly transferred—similar to the Bangchak shares case. The SEC must oversee whether these suspicious transactions involve the same group of individuals.
He added that if so, this would violate Securities Act sections 246 on reporting significant shareholding changes and 247 on the duty to make a tender offer to the public. Combining the major shareholders of these groups would total 51.96%, consisting of:
- CAI For Pilgrim Finansa Investment Holding (the secret money source linked to Ben Smith) at 24.14%,
- Beteverse (fully transferred from Ben Smith’s wife, Catria Beaver) at 10.00%,
- Rapidfire (fully transferred from BIC Bank (Cambodia)) at 10.00%, and
- Ms. Suparat Sanga Muang (Ben Smith’s former wife) at 7.82%, which would violate sections 246 and 247 as well as section 244 on matched orders.
Despite this abundant evidence, the SEC has yet to take any action. Who are they hesitant to confront? In summary, the key question is: since AMLO has already ordered the seizure of shares, land, vehicles, cash, and other assets of Ben Smith, his wife, and associates, why has the process not been completed? If these shares and assets are transferred or sold off, how will AMLO and the SEC be held accountable? I reiterate the question: why is there still no arrest warrant for Ben Smith in the money laundering case?