Thai police launched a major operation on Koh Phangan on May 13, raiding 32 companies suspected of using Thai nominees to illegally hold land on behalf of foreign investors. More than 300 officers took part in the coordinated crackdown, which targeted businesses linked to land ownership worth more than 150 million baht.
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The operation was led by Pol General Samran Nualma, deputy national police chief, alongside Pol Lieutenant General Noppasilp Poolsawat, commissioner attached to the Office of the National Police Chief. Officers from specialist police units, immigration police, Provincial Police Region 8, Surat Thani police, Krabi police and Koh Phangan Police Station were deployed across 32 locations on the island.
Authorities said the companies under investigation collectively hold 37 land title deeds. Officers seized corporate documents, shareholder records, company registration papers, land deeds, lease agreements, financial records, bank account details and evidence of international money transfers. Digital evidence and computer equipment were also confiscated during the searches.
Police are also pursuing four suspects linked to alleged illegal foreign business operations and nominee shareholding arrangements. The group includes one foreign national and three Thai nationals accused of helping foreign investors circumvent Thai ownership laws.
The raids targeted luxury villas, commercial premises and a law office suspected of coordinating nominee arrangements for foreign property ownership. One of the main sites searched was a luxury villa complex in Moo 7 of Koh Phangan subdistrict, consisting of around six villas owned by a company now under investigation.
Pictures courtesy of Daily News
The crackdown came on the same day as Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s inspection visit to Surat Thani and follows wider investigations by the Department of Special Investigation and the Department of Business Development. Authorities are reviewing more than 11,400 companies in Surat Thani province.
The Prime Minister later joined a raid an alleged illegal pool villa and ordered an investigation into the financial transactions after discovering that an Israeli national was owning it using a Thai national as a nominee.
Anutin Charnvirakul arrived at the residence in Moo 7, Ban Cholok Lam, Koh Phangan Subdistrict, Surat Thani Province, where a villa company is located. He gathered with accompanying ministers and government officials responsible for the Koh Phangan area for a discussion in front of a pool villa that had been reportedly illegally constructed.
Investigators are examining whether foreign investors used Thai nominees to control land, tourism businesses and hotels in violation of the Foreign Business Act. Officials are also checking whether some hotels operated without licences and whether foreign nationals were working illegally or in occupations reserved for Thai citizens.
According to Department of Business Development figures, 3,213 of Koh Phangan’s 4,761 registered companies involve foreign investment, representing around 67% of all registered firms on the island. Israeli investors account for 22% of those companies, followed by French investors at 13% and British investors at 11%.
Daily News reported that authorities said investigations will continue into financial transactions, company ownership structures and the legitimacy of shareholder investments. The government said legal foreign investment remains welcome but warned that nominee structures, illegal land ownership and unlicensed business operations will face stricter enforcement.
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Adapted by ASEAN Now Dailynews 14 May 2026