Thailand’s Department of Business Development has launched a major crackdown on suspected foreign nominee businesses on Koh Phangan and Koh Samui in Surat Thani province, after reports that foreign investors were using Thai nationals to bypass ownership restrictions. Authorities found one individual listed as a shareholder in 87 companies, while another accounting office was linked to 66 firms and 89 registered business addresses.

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Director-general Phunpong Naiyanapakorn said the operation targeted companies suspected of violating the Foreign Business Act 1999 by using Thai nominees to conceal foreign ownership in restricted sectors. Investigators examined 16,811 registered companies across the two islands and found that 11,426 firms, or 67.97%, involved foreign investment.

The department said some companies were operating legally, while others were suspected of using Thai shareholders as proxies for foreign investors. Officials described the issue as an urgent priority and confirmed closer cooperation with partner agencies under a memorandum of understanding aimed at tackling nominee business structures.

On Koh Phangan, investigators identified two main groups of concern. The first involved an accounting office operating under the name First Consultants Universal Service, officially registered as First Consultants 47 Co Ltd. Authorities said the owner appeared as a shareholder in 66 companies, while the office address was linked to 89 registered firms despite no visible business activity at the site.

Police seized documents and computers from the premises to investigate whether Thai nominees had been used on behalf of foreign investors. The evidence will also support possible criminal proceedings.

The second case involved a luxury villa development known as Sithaya Beach Front Villa, comprising eight villas rented to foreign tourists for 13,000 baht per night without a hotel licence. Officials questioned the project manager and six foreign tourists and uncovered concerns over land ownership linked to assets valued at more than 152 million baht.

Investigators said two Thai companies held the land, while Israeli shareholders controlled 49% of shares. Another Israeli company was later added as a shareholder, raising suspicions of tax avoidance and concealed foreign ownership.

On Koh Samui, authorities identified further suspected nominee arrangements involving employees of company registration and accounting firms listed as majority shareholders alongside foreign investors. One individual was found holding shares in 87 companies. The Department of Business Development has referred the case to the Department of Special Investigation for further examination.

The department has also submitted information on 34 large companies in Surat Thani to the Anti-Money Laundering Office for financial investigations. Each company reportedly holds assets exceeding 100 million baht and operates in sectors restricted under the Foreign Business Act, mainly property-related businesses.

Penalties under the Foreign Business Act include prison terms of up to three years and fines ranging from 100,000 to 1 million baht for both Thai nominees and foreign operators acting without permission. Additional daily fines of 10,000 to 50,000 baht can be imposed for ignoring court orders.

ThaiRath reported that authorities said similar investigations are now expanding to other tourist provinces including Chon Buri, Chiang Mai, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Phuket, Krabi and Phang Nga as part of a wider effort to prevent illegal foreign control of businesses in Thailand.

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Adapted by ASEAN Now ThaiRath 9 May 2026

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So do they think all the villas around samui are all legally owned by foreigners with lease agreements on the land 🙄

Then add God knows how many businesses that have nominee partners but the foreign owner is the largest shareholder . 🙈

High time they did this.

Go hard on them !

Plenty of shekels sloshing around...................perhaps less so when the investigation is a wrap...........Regardless of the currency, one needs balls of steel to invest such large sums, especially when the whole world knows, and particularly savvy operators have known for over 2 decades that this type of ownership is a huge grey area..............

6 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

Thailand’s Department of Business Development has launched a major crackdown on suspected foreign nominee businesses on Koh Phangan and Koh Samui in Surat Thani province, after reports that foreign investors were using Thai nationals to bypass ownership restrictions. Authorities found one individual listed as a shareholder in 87 companies, while another accounting office was linked to 66 firms and 89 registered business addresses.

Get today's headlines by email

Director-general Phunpong Naiyanapakorn said the operation targeted companies suspected of violating the Foreign Business Act 1999 by using Thai nominees to conceal foreign ownership in restricted sectors. Investigators examined 16,811 registered companies across the two islands and found that 11,426 firms, or 67.97%, involved foreign investment.

The department said some companies were operating legally, while others were suspected of using Thai shareholders as proxies for foreign investors. Officials described the issue as an urgent priority and confirmed closer cooperation with partner agencies under a memorandum of understanding aimed at tackling nominee business structures.

On Koh Phangan, investigators identified two main groups of concern. The first involved an accounting office operating under the name First Consultants Universal Service, officially registered as First Consultants 47 Co Ltd. Authorities said the owner appeared as a shareholder in 66 companies, while the office address was linked to 89 registered firms despite no visible business activity at the site.

Police seized documents and computers from the premises to investigate whether Thai nominees had been used on behalf of foreign investors. The evidence will also support possible criminal proceedings.

The second case involved a luxury villa development known as Sithaya Beach Front Villa, comprising eight villas rented to foreign tourists for 13,000 baht per night without a hotel licence. Officials questioned the project manager and six foreign tourists and uncovered concerns over land ownership linked to assets valued at more than 152 million baht.

Investigators said two Thai companies held the land, while Israeli shareholders controlled 49% of shares. Another Israeli company was later added as a shareholder, raising suspicions of tax avoidance and concealed foreign ownership.

On Koh Samui, authorities identified further suspected nominee arrangements involving employees of company registration and accounting firms listed as majority shareholders alongside foreign investors. One individual was found holding shares in 87 companies. The Department of Business Development has referred the case to the Department of Special Investigation for further examination.

The department has also submitted information on 34 large companies in Surat Thani to the Anti-Money Laundering Office for financial investigations. Each company reportedly holds assets exceeding 100 million baht and operates in sectors restricted under the Foreign Business Act, mainly property-related businesses.

Penalties under the Foreign Business Act include prison terms of up to three years and fines ranging from 100,000 to 1 million baht for both Thai nominees and foreign operators acting without permission. Additional daily fines of 10,000 to 50,000 baht can be imposed for ignoring court orders.

ThaiRath reported that authorities said similar investigations are now expanding to other tourist provinces including Chon Buri, Chiang Mai, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Phuket, Krabi and Phang Nga as part of a wider effort to prevent illegal foreign control of businesses in Thailand.

Join the discussion?

Already a member?

Adapted by ASEAN Now ThaiRath 9 May 2026

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finally, at last...

this is going on for many many years already!

i'm sure everyone involved felt like a king not being discovered!

keep digging guys, there's more to be found!

This "crackdown" has been monthly news for about the last 2 or 3 years.

Here it says they will extend it to Phuket. Yet that happened 1 or 2 years ago. Plenty of stories online

Targeting only specific nationalities. The worst, Phuket with Russian and Chinese. But it’s easier to hate another and ignore facts.

The thin end of the wedge I suspect

Many other foreigners of all nationalities need to start to get rather concerned if they "own " the and using a 49/51 company

Let's see if this actually goes to court with Thais and foreigners in the dock.

It wouldn't surprise me if we never hear about it again. Then again, the police have lots of evidence in their hands. If no one goes to court/prison then, hmm..

9 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

Investigators examined 16,811 registered companies across the two islands and found that 11,426 firms, or 67.97%, involved foreign investment.

That's a lot – 11,426 companies with foreign shareholders – on two so relative small islands. Too many news stories about illegal operation with foreigners involved.

Can imagine many foreigners with nominee businesses are sleepless these days.

Millions of baht, in possible or likely future losses.

Wish they would have a crackdown in Wongamat Pattaya. 90% of business operations have Russian signage. Bet there are quite a few nominees among that many Russian owned businesess.

44 minutes ago, khunPer said:

That's a lot – 11,426 companies with foreign shareholders – on two so relative small islands. Too many news stories about illegal operation with foreigners involved.

Thing is, this has been going on for decades - particularly foreigners who want a detached house in one of these places. They can't own the land the house sits on, so they set up a shell company with nominee Thai shareholders (51%) but the Thais are not active - they sign for a fee - but the foreigners are calling the shots. Also small business works that way with foreigners running the shop even though they are minority shareholders. The authorities have known this for decades too - some might be complicit - but I'm not aware of any foreigner or Thai nominee who has gone to jail or have had their illegal 'homes' confiscated. Some condos/townhouses have been confiscated if they've been built on publi land without permission.

Looks like they were ratted out by disgruntled partners who were not paid according to promises.

It might be gathering pace as they have worked out that it's low-hanging fruit and an easy money grab because they are skint. Also, they are using AI to cross-reference everything from many government departments to see if the nominee is a plausible partner... if not, then they can pretty much disolve the company without notifying you and once the company legally ceases to exist through court order, then any property it held automatically becomes the state's property.

I think it has just got easier for them to do it now, hence the renewed action... folks should beware of this and it's only going to get worse, as all sorts of entities are now using AI to data-crunch stuff, from banks to government to immigration to universities to all and sundry.

Edited May 9May 9 by Sir Dude
Typos

13 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

Thailand’s Department of Business Development has launched a major crackdown on suspected foreign nominee businesses on Koh Phangan and Koh Samui in Surat Thani province, after reports that foreign investors were using Thai nationals to bypass ownership restrictions. Authorities found one individual listed as a shareholder in 87 companies, while another accounting office was linked to 66 firms and 89 registered business addresses.

Get today's headlines by email

Director-general Phunpong Naiyanapakorn said the operation targeted companies suspected of violating the Foreign Business Act 1999 by using Thai nominees to conceal foreign ownership in restricted sectors. Investigators examined 16,811 registered companies across the two islands and found that 11,426 firms, or 67.97%, involved foreign investment.

The department said some companies were operating legally, while others were suspected of using Thai shareholders as proxies for foreign investors. Officials described the issue as an urgent priority and confirmed closer cooperation with partner agencies under a memorandum of understanding aimed at tackling nominee business structures.

On Koh Phangan, investigators identified two main groups of concern. The first involved an accounting office operating under the name First Consultants Universal Service, officially registered as First Consultants 47 Co Ltd. Authorities said the owner appeared as a shareholder in 66 companies, while the office address was linked to 89 registered firms despite no visible business activity at the site.

Police seized documents and computers from the premises to investigate whether Thai nominees had been used on behalf of foreign investors. The evidence will also support possible criminal proceedings.

The second case involved a luxury villa development known as Sithaya Beach Front Villa, comprising eight villas rented to foreign tourists for 13,000 baht per night without a hotel licence. Officials questioned the project manager and six foreign tourists and uncovered concerns over land ownership linked to assets valued at more than 152 million baht.

Investigators said two Thai companies held the land, while Israeli shareholders controlled 49% of shares. Another Israeli company was later added as a shareholder, raising suspicions of tax avoidance and concealed foreign ownership.

On Koh Samui, authorities identified further suspected nominee arrangements involving employees of company registration and accounting firms listed as majority shareholders alongside foreign investors. One individual was found holding shares in 87 companies. The Department of Business Development has referred the case to the Department of Special Investigation for further examination.

The department has also submitted information on 34 large companies in Surat Thani to the Anti-Money Laundering Office for financial investigations. Each company reportedly holds assets exceeding 100 million baht and operates in sectors restricted under the Foreign Business Act, mainly property-related businesses.

Penalties under the Foreign Business Act include prison terms of up to three years and fines ranging from 100,000 to 1 million baht for both Thai nominees and foreign operators acting without permission. Additional daily fines of 10,000 to 50,000 baht can be imposed for ignoring court orders.

ThaiRath reported that authorities said similar investigations are now expanding to other tourist provinces including Chon Buri, Chiang Mai, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Phuket, Krabi and Phang Nga as part of a wider effort to prevent illegal foreign control of businesses in Thailand.

Join the discussion?

Already a member?

Adapted by ASEAN Now ThaiRath 9 May 2026

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Well that’s both islands closed then. Most businesses are run by thais but owned by foreigners on those islands. Been going on for years especially in the bar/restaurant trade.

4 hours ago, Reddavy said:

Well that’s both islands closed then. Most businesses are run by thais but owned by foreigners on those islands. Been going on for years especially in the bar/restaurant trade.

Indeed. Most touristic developed islands survive with and thanks to foreign money. Crackdowns won't last long.

high end politicians and police officers will be suddenly the new owners

and the land department is as corrupt as it can get

I go there regularly and money in envelopes for 'fast service' aka no waiting instead of sitting there half a day or more to wait your turn and found out 'difficulties'

21 hours ago, ronnie50 said:

Thing is, this has been going on for decades - particularly foreigners who want a detached house in one of these places. They can't own the land the house sits on, so they set up a shell company with nominee Thai shareholders (51%) but the Thais are not active - they sign for a fee - but the foreigners are calling the shots. Also small business works that way with foreigners running the shop even though they are minority shareholders. The authorities have known this for decades too - some might be complicit - but I'm not aware of any foreigner or Thai nominee who has gone to jail or have had their illegal 'homes' confiscated. Some condos/townhouses have been confiscated if they've been built on publi land without permission.

The problem is not the empty shell for land ownership of a small plot for a villa. The problem is the companies used for fraud, herunder illegal business or white washing. And that is where the authorities sets in.

The law was changed some 15+ years ago, when reducing the minimum number of shareholders in a company limited from 7 to 3—today it's 2— and that the Thai shareholders should show proof of their financial mean to invest in a company limited. Existing companies got a time-frame to change their shareholders from nominees to real share holders. With a minimum registered capital og 2 million baht for a company with foreigners among the owners, the little over 1 million baht owned by one or more Thais, is not an overwhelming amount – a Thai spouse can for example be gifted a quite large taxfree sum – but more than the funds the establishing law office's clerk or cleaning lady can afford; especially if they own shares in multiple companies.

55 minutes ago, khunPer said:

The problem is not the empty shell for land ownership of a small plot for a villa. The problem is the companies used for fraud, herunder illegal business or white washing. And that is where the authorities sets in.

I think the problem is for both. Developers in these places might well have been selling land/houses to foreigners and assisting with the fake holding company. But no doubt the bigger fish to catch are the ones that are operating illegally for reasons of fraud, whitewashing etc.

On 5/9/2026 at 9:58 AM, Off Piste said:

Plenty of shekels sloshing around...................perhaps less so when the investigation is a wrap...........Regardless of the currency, one needs balls of steel to invest such large sums, especially when the whole world knows, and particularly savvy operators have known for over 2 decades that this type of ownership is a huge grey area..............

All black money. The investments in Thailand launder and churn black money

I'm certain there's loads of war grift mixed in there

All the Chabad houses should be shut down immediately.

People are just bad news. Never a positive story about Israelis ...ever and I mean ever

20 hours ago, Reddavy said:

Well that’s both islands closed then. Most businesses are run by thais but owned by foreigners on those islands. Been going on for years especially in the bar/restaurant trade.

Boo hoo

As if Thai can run AND OWN a businesses at the same time 😂

Things will get much quieter and that's because Israelis are going to leave because they can't abuse the system any longer. Perfectly fine. GREAT 👍

Let them try this in Vietnam lol

Wait until they come to Phuket, Pick an area, I think they should start in Rawai and work their way up the island,