Thailand, US to Divide US$46.3 Million Seized from AlphaBay Site

Thailand’s Attorney-General reports that agents and their US counterparts are preparing to divide assets totaling about US$46.3 million seized from the illicit trading site AlphaBay, which was one of the largest of its kind on the dark web.

According to Jumppon Phansumrit, the director-general of the International Affairs Department, the case of Canadian National Alexandre Cazes, 26, was brought to a close after he killed himself with a towel in a cell in July 2017 while waiting to be extradited to the United States.

Mr. Jumpon said Cazes created AlphaBay in 2014 to facilitate the trade of illicit goods, like narcotics, firearms, and pirated personal data.

The member payments were conducted using Bitcoin to ensure convenience and protection, he added. A total of 16 warrants were issued against Cazes with over 16 charges, according to Mr. Jumpon, who coordinated with Thai authorities on the case.

Deputy OAG spokesman Prayuth Petchkhun said the Taling Chan Court seized assets from Cazes’s group on March 28 at the request of the prosecutor.

Seized Assets from AlphaBay to be Auctioned

According to reports, the assets included houses worth about US$2.8 million in Bangkok, a US$5.7 million villa in Phuket, a US$1.3 million baht Lamborghini Aventador, and a US$289,000 Porsche Panamera, and US$1.33 million baht in bank deposits.

According to Mr. Payuth, the total value of the assets is US$46.3 million, which included the 911 Bitcoins US$35.9 million (about 1.24 billion baht) seized from Cazes.

In addition, Mr. Jumpon said assets belonging to Cazes and his AlphaBay accomplices in foreign countries, such as Cyprus, Liechtenstein and Antigua, and Barbuda, were seized by the District Court for the Eastern District of California in the US.

According to Mr. Jumpon, Thailand has not set the criteria for splitting assets under the Act on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters 1992 since the Cazes case was the country’s first major case of its kind.

He said seized assets from AlphaBay will be auctioned off and revenue will be collected before negotiations are held with US counterparts over a split.