The South African who can’t be defamed--hiding in plain sight

Benjamin Mauerberger, a South African granted Thai citizenship (only the most upstanding need apply), is suing People’s Party party-list MP Rangsiman Rome, for defamation for calling remarks accusing a foreign businessman of involvement in a scam and call-centre network were defamatory and not supported by evidence.  Mauerberger is seeking $100 million  (USD not THB) in damages.

“Mauerberger describes himself on his LinkedIn page as a Toronto-based  (Canadian citizen, too???) investment consultant “with an extensive background in international market exchanges.” He has become close to Thaksin, distressing many of the elite because of his reputation, says a well-wired member of Bangkok’s elite financial community who asked not to be identified out of concern for retribution.

“Mauerberger, sometimes known as Ben Smith, has built ties to both the Thaksin Shinawatra and Hun Sen dynasties in Thailand and Cambodia that have earned him a nickname in Bangkok as a “fixer” and the “Jho Low of Thailand,” a reference to the fugitive Malaysian financier at the center of Malaysia’s massive 1MDB scandal.

“Wall Street Journal correspondent, Tom Wright, describes Mauerberger as a “convicted criminal on the run, and a notorious fixer for Cambodia’s elite,” a description that also appears to hearken back to the first part of the century when he was described as a “boiler room operator” in New Zealand, allegedly using high-pressure tactics to cold-call potential investors into buying worthless shares, often at inflated prices, according to an October 1, 2006 article in the London-based Guardian newspaper.

The one that was too small

“Although almost nobody in Thailand appears aware of him outside the power elites, Mauerberger seems to have become a flamboyant figure in Bangkok, tooling around the city in a Ferrari, married to a Thai businesswoman who has taken his name to become known as Kitty Mauerberger. The two are said to throw lavish parties connected to Thaksin’s inner circle. The couple also have an opulent home in Phuket and recently traded a 51-meter yacht for two bigger ones.

ref. John Berthelsen, Asia Sentinal, August 29, 2025

1 hour ago, unblocktheplanet said:

The South African who can’t be defamed--hiding in plain sight

Benjamin Mauerberger, a South African granted Thai citizenship (only the most upstanding need apply), is suing People’s Party party-list MP Rangsiman Rome, for defamation for calling remarks accusing a foreign businessman of involvement in a scam and call-centre network were defamatory and not supported by evidence.  Mauerberger is seeking $100 million  (USD not THB) in damages.

“Mauerberger describes himself on his LinkedIn page as a Toronto-based  (Canadian citizen, too???) investment consultant “with an extensive background in international market exchanges.” He has become close to Thaksin, distressing many of the elite because of his reputation, says a well-wired member of Bangkok’s elite financial community who asked not to be identified out of concern for retribution.

“Mauerberger, sometimes known as Ben Smith, has built ties to both the Thaksin Shinawatra and Hun Sen dynasties in Thailand and Cambodia that have earned him a nickname in Bangkok as a “fixer” and the “Jho Low of Thailand,” a reference to the fugitive Malaysian financier at the center of Malaysia’s massive 1MDB scandal.

“Wall Street Journal correspondent, Tom Wright, describes Mauerberger as a “convicted criminal on the run, and a notorious fixer for Cambodia’s elite,” a description that also appears to hearken back to the first part of the century when he was described as a “boiler room operator” in New Zealand, allegedly using high-pressure tactics to cold-call potential investors into buying worthless shares, often at inflated prices, according to an October 1, 2006 article in the London-based Guardian newspaper.

The one that was too small

“Although almost nobody in Thailand appears aware of him outside the power elites, Mauerberger seems to have become a flamboyant figure in Bangkok, tooling around the city in a Ferrari, married to a Thai businesswoman who has taken his name to become known as Kitty Mauerberger. The two are said to throw lavish parties connected to Thaksin’s inner circle. The couple also have an opulent home in Phuket and recently traded a 51-meter yacht for two bigger ones.

ref. John Berthelsen, Asia Sentinal, August 29, 2025

He does not have Thai citizenship, his application was denied.