An Israeli national wanted in connection with an alleged nominee land ownership scheme on Koh Phangan has been arrested at Samui Airport after returning to Thailand. The suspect, identified as 30-year-old Eden Alisa, was detained on 10 June 2026 by Surat Thani Immigration Police working with Koh Phangan Police under an outstanding arrest warrant issued by the Koh Samui Provincial Court.

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The arrest forms part of a wider government crackdown on multiple foreign nominee businesses and illegal foreign investment activities. Authorities said the operation targets foreign groups accused of using Thai nationals as proxies to conceal land ownership and business interests that may breach Thai law.

The case is linked to the “Foreign Nominee Network on Koh Phangan” operation launched in mid-May 2026. During that campaign, authorities obtained 45 arrest warrants. So far, 27 suspects have been arrested, while efforts continue to locate the remaining 18 individuals.

According to police, Eden Alisa is a shareholder in Alisa Paradise Co Ltd. Investigators allege the company was established using Thai nominee shareholders to acquire land on Koh Phangan. Officials said the suspect left Thailand before authorities executed search warrants connected to the investigation.

Immigration investigators later learned that Alisa planned to return to Thailand through Samui Airport at approximately 10.30am on 10 June. Officers intercepted and arrested him upon arrival.

Police said the suspect was wanted under Koh Samui Provincial Court warrant number 121/2569, dated 21 May 2026. The allegation concerns jointly submitting false information to land officials in order to obtain land possession through a company allegedly established with Thai nominee shareholders.

During initial questioning, Alisa reportedly admitted he was the individual named in the warrant. He told investigators that he had hired an accounting company to register Alisa Paradise Co Ltd and used Thai shareholders supplied by the firm to act as nominees. He allegedly intended to use the company to acquire land on Koh Phangan for the future construction of a private holiday home.

The suspect has been transferred to investigators at Koh Phangan Police Station for legal proceedings. Authorities said the investigation will now be expanded to examine the wider network involved in the arrangement.

Khaosod reported that officials are to investigate the accounting firm and any Thai nationals who agreed to act as nominee shareholders. Further arrests or legal action may follow as authorities continue efforts to dismantle other alleged nominee structures linked to foreign land ownership.

Pictures courtesy of Khaosod

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Adapted by ASEAN Now Khaosod 11 June 2026

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Would not a simple solution be to ban all nominee structures from owning land ?

Or am i missing something as to why this loop was/is allowed ?

3 hours ago, DonniePeverley said:

Would not a simple solution be to ban all nominee structures from owning land ?

Or am i missing something as to why this loop was/is allowed ?

The whole idea of nominees is illegal, not only the land ownership part.

4 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

he had hired an accounting company to register Alisa Paradise Co Ltd and used Thai shareholders supplied by the firm to act as nominees.

Authorities should shut down the accounting company and prosecute company persons complicit in supplying illegal Thai nominees.

3 hours ago, DonniePeverley said:

Would not a simple solution be to ban all nominee structures from owning land ?

Or am i missing something as to why this loop was/is allowed ?

What is a “nominee structure”?

If you mean a company, that is clearly impractical because there are many Thai development companies, both privately and publicly owned. The issue is whether the shareholders in private companies are holding for their own benefit, or for the benefit of a foreigner. The latter is acting as a nominee.

7 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

Authorities should shut down the accounting company and prosecute company persons complicit in supplying illegal Thai nominees.

That’s by far the easiest way to identify these cases. Most people will be using an accounting firm and if a firm does it for one, they are probably doing it for others. Often a firm gets a reputation for providing these services and become a hub.

4 hours ago, DonniePeverley said:

Would not a simple solution be to ban all nominee structures from owning land ?

Or am i missing something as to why this loop was/is allowed ?

What you're missing is that many Thai company structures are set up legally as opposed to using Thai nominees illegally. Are you suggesting that legally constituted and operating Thai companies with Thai and foreign shareholders should not be allowed to own land in Thailand?

39 minutes ago, LukKrueng said:

The whole idea of nominees is illegal, not only the land ownership part.

No it is not. Having legitimate Thai shareholders (nominees) owning companies along with foreigners is not illegal, the illegal part is having Thais who are illegal nominees with no operating or financial connection to those companies.

19 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

Authorities should shut down the accounting company and prosecute company persons complicit in supplying illegal Thai nominees.

That's why the OP clearly stated that the accounting company and those involved in the setting up of the illegal company are being investigated.

9 minutes ago, wensiensheng said:

That’s by far the easiest way to identify these cases. Most people will be using an accounting firm and if a firm does it for one, they are probably doing it for others. Often a firm gets a reputation for providing these services and become a hub.

Yes, that's the best solution. If you charge and criminally convict a few of these crooked Thai accounting firms (their Principals) and send them to prison, the rest of the firms won't do this anymore, making the whole nominee racket very difficult for foreigners.

16 minutes ago, wensiensheng said:

What is a “nominee structure”?

The issue is whether the shareholders in private companies are holding for their own benefit, or for the benefit of a foreigner. The latter is acting as a nominee.

To be accurate the latter is asking acting as an illegal nominee, there's a difference between legal and illegal nominees.

15 minutes ago, wensiensheng said:

That’s by far the easiest way to identify these cases. Most people will be using an accounting firm and if a firm does it for one, they are probably doing it for others. Often a firm gets a reputation for providing these services and become a hub.

That's why those involved are being investigated, as is pointed out in all of these illegal nominee company reports.

5 minutes ago, ronnie50 said:

Yes, that's the best solution. If you charge and criminally convict a few of these crooked Thai accounting firms (their Principals) and send them to prison, the rest of the firms won't do this anymore, making the whole nominee racket very difficult for foreigners.

They are being investigated and charged if appropriate, ss the OP stated.

1 hour ago, Liverpool Lou said:

That's why those involved are being investigated, as is pointed out in all of these illegal nominee company reports.

jollyhangmon, your emoji implied that you need clarification of my claim. From the OP...

..."officials are to investigate the accounting firm and any Thai nationals who agreed to act as nominee shareholders..."

Is that clear enough for you?

5 hours ago, DonniePeverley said:

Would not a simple solution be to ban all nominee structures from owning land ?

Or am i missing something as to why this loop was/is allowed ?

It's illegal and banned already.

This is Thailand

I hope the last sentence provides the something you're missing.

1 hour ago, Liverpool Lou said:

No it is not. Having legitimate Thai shareholders (nominees) owning companies along with foreigners is not illegal, the illegal part is having Thais who are illegal nominees with no operating or financial connection to those companies.

Absolutely correct.

And when it comes to foreigners using these structures illegally, they possibly see think a lawyer is a lawyer with the same principles and standards as lawyers back home.

2 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

To be accurate the latter is asking acting as an illegal nominee, there's a difference between legal and illegal nominees.

2 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

To be accurate the latter is asking acting as an illegal nominee, there's a difference between legal and illegal nominees.

2 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

To be accurate the latter is asking acting as an illegal nominee, there's a difference between legal and illegal nominees.

Well a Thai person holding shares as a nominee for another Thai person is not illegal. Provided that the nominee is not being used to hide the beneficial ownership because such ownership would be illegal for some reason.

And a Thai person acting as a nominee for a foreigner is not in and of itself illegal. Again, unless use of the nominee is to shield the beneficial ownership because were the beneficial ownership known, then it would result in an illegal act.

I think we are saying the same thing using different words.

2 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

That's why those involved are being investigated, as is pointed out in all of these illegal nominee company reports.

Indeed. Hence my affirmation that this was a good idea.

3 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

No it is not. Having legitimate Thai shareholders (nominees) owning companies along with foreigners is not illegal, the illegal part is having Thais who are illegal nominees with no operating or financial connection to those companies.

Of course, if I wish to buy stocks on the Thai stock exchange ( which is perfectly legal) and I do so through a Thai brokerage, and because I travel a lot I use the brokerage firm to hold the stocks as my nominee, there is nothing illegal about that. The brokerage firm is acting legally as a nominee because they are not facilitating anything illegal. Beneficial ownership rests with me, and that is legal.

The illegal part about these private companies that have Thai nominee shareholders and own land, is that beneficial ownership of the company rests with the foreigner. And it is illegal for a foreigner to own land. So the nominee is facilitating an illegal act.

I don’t know if that’s how Thai law looks at it, (I’m sure you will let me know if it doesn’t), but it’s how I view the situation.

3 hours ago, wensiensheng said:

What is a “nominee structure”?

If you mean a company, that is clearly impractical because there are many Thai development companies, both privately and publicly owned. The issue is whether the shareholders in private companies are holding for their own benefit, or for the benefit of a foreigner. The latter is acting as a nominee.

3 hours ago, wensiensheng said:

What is a “nominee structure”?

If you mean a company, that is clearly impractical because there are many Thai development companies, both privately and publicly owned. The issue is whether the shareholders in private companies are holding for their own benefit, or for the benefit of a foreigner. The latter is acting as a nominee.

3 hours ago, wensiensheng said:

What is a “nominee structure”?

If you mean a company, that is clearly impractical because there are many Thai development companies, both privately and publicly owned. The issue is whether the shareholders in private companies are holding for their own benefit, or for the benefit of a foreigner. The latter is acting as a nominee.

Very succinctly put- and I suspect in the next year or two we will read of many people losing their homes as a result of the 49/61 nominee structure

4 minutes ago, Legal Lifeline said:

Very succinctly put- and I suspect in the next year or two we will read of many people losing their homes as a result of the 49/61 nominee structure

And it would be very easy to determine if the two other Thai partners are basically just poor people or at least not of any means or special knowledge relative to the company that is 'trading'. But there must be tens of thousands of these.

7 minutes ago, ronnie50 said:

And it would be very easy to determine if the two other Thai partners are basically just poor people or at least not of any means or special knowledge relative to the company that is 'trading'. But there must be tens of thousands of these.

I agree- and it will be very easy to prove that the nominees are indeed just nominees

5 minutes ago, Legal Lifeline said:

5 minutes ago, Legal Lifeline said:

I agree- and it will be very easy to prove that the nominees are indeed just nominees

Yes, but the task at hand would still be enormous. My own sense is the government doesn't want to go after the foreigners who've abused the company route to own the land their home sits upon - while the government has every right to do so, the huge sh*t storm and international publicity is not in the country's interest. They'd need a thousand staffers to weed though all of these. Then what? Kick thousands of foreigners out of Thailand after seizing their land and house? That's why I think they will investigate and uncover only illegal nominees part of the foreign 'owned' businesses - pizza joints, construction firms, vehicle rental firms, clothing distributors, etc., etc.

Now sort the nominee problem out in Phuket. Scandalous what is happening there. Environmental destruction. So many noninee structures doing same there.

10 minutes ago, Bally Jaggers said:

Environmental destruction.

Well highlighted, a real blight on all the islands and far more scandalous than the nominee issue, which, hand in glove is facilitating the destruction.......

27 minutes ago, ronnie50 said:

Yes, but the task at hand would still be enormous. My own sense is the government doesn't want to go after the foreigners who've abused the company route to own the land their home sits upon - while the government has every right to do so, the huge sh*t storm and international publicity is not in the country's interest. They'd need a thousand staffers to weed though all of these. Then what? Kick thousands of foreigners out of Thailand after seizing their land and house? That's why I think they will investigate and uncover only illegal nominees part of the foreign 'owned' businesses - pizza joints, construction firms, vehicle rental firms, clothing distributors, etc., etc.

27 minutes ago, ronnie50 said:

Yes, but the task at hand would still be enormous. My own sense is the government doesn't want to go after the foreigners who've abused the company route to own the land their home sits upon - while the government has every right to do so, the huge sh*t storm and international publicity is not in the country's interest. They'd need a thousand staffers to weed though all of these. Then what? Kick thousands of foreigners out of Thailand after seizing their land and house? That's why I think they will investigate and uncover only illegal nominees part of the foreign 'owned' businesses - pizza joints, construction firms, vehicle rental firms, clothing distributors, etc., etc.

27 minutes ago, ronnie50 said:

Yes, but the task at hand would still be enormous. My own sense is the government doesn't want to go after the foreigners who've abused the company route to own the land their home sits upon - while the government has every right to do so, the huge sh*t storm and international publicity is not in the country's interest. They'd need a thousand staffers to weed though all of these. Then what? Kick thousands of foreigners out of Thailand after seizing their land and house? That's why I think they will investigate and uncover only illegal nominees part of the foreign 'owned' businesses - pizza joints, construction firms, vehicle rental firms, clothing distributors, etc., etc.

I have a feeling that a husband and wife who own their own home through this type of structure don’t have too much to fear. After all, the wife “owns” 50% of all marital property acquired after marriage anyway. So it’s debatable if she is actually a nominee even though she probably didn’t contribute much capital initially.

On the other hand, owning trading businesses and buying land for development and sale are probably right in the cross hairs. In Phuket the arrival of many Russians who want to do some kind of business has resulted in a huge proliferation of this kind of thing.

Based on what I read, Koh Phangnan and Samui are similar, although maybe mostly different nationalities.

The thing is, nationalities tend to group together and follow each others actions. One guy gets a dodgy education visa, tells his compatriots and soon many have them. Another guy sets up a company using nominees and tells said compatriots and soon many people follow their lead.

All ably assisted by willing Thai people.

It has always been a thing, but the sheer scale of it seems to have just exploded in recent years.

1 hour ago, Bally Jaggers said:

Now sort the nominee problem out in Phuket. Scandalous what is happening there. Environmental destruction. So many noninee structures doing same there.

If they enforced it strictly in Phuket there would be alot of VERY WORRIED individuals. It's scandalous what is going on there. In Phuket it's been done on a mass scale.

We all have to remember Thailand is still a developing country. Alot of the population (away from your central tourist bubble zone) are on low wages - a home is to live in. Many developing countries (like India, Veitnam, hell even China) protect their local population from external developers just taking advantage.

Homes should be to live in. Not for property speculation, or developers to make money at the cost of locals who sees housing become unaffordable, and a destruction of the local environment.

It's becoming widespread in Koh Samui too.

Removing properties from these abusing the nominee structure, targetting law firms with tough strict sentencing will send a message.

Edited June 11Jun 11 by DonniePeverley

1 hour ago, ronnie50 said:

Yes, but the task at hand would still be enormous. My own sense is the government doesn't want to go after the foreigners who've abused the company route to own the land their home sits upon - while the government has every right to do so, the huge sh*t storm and international publicity is not in the country's interest. They'd need a thousand staffers to weed though all of these. Then what? Kick thousands of foreigners out of Thailand after seizing their land and house? That's why I think they will investigate and uncover only illegal nominees part of the foreign 'owned' businesses - pizza joints, construction firms, vehicle rental firms, clothing distributors, etc., etc.

Yes do exactly that. And return the land back to the people.

You either protect your local population, or you don't. There should be no ambiguity, wink wink, go on son do as you please and use a couple of Thai guys to make up a fake company.

It would not take thousands of people. Those in the know at ground level know what's going on.

Phuket is an island, one of Thailands biggest tourist earners and should be protected.

1 hour ago, wensiensheng said:

In Phuket the arrival of many Russians who want to do some kind of business has resulted in a huge proliferation of this kind of thing.

Yes. But the Russians have been a major presence on Phuket even 20 years ago - in Pattaya too.

1 hour ago, ronnie50 said:

Yes. But the Russians have been a major presence on Phuket even 20 years ago - in Pattaya too.

I can’t say I saw many 20 years ago. But I’ve never lived in Patong and the area where I live was pretty sleepy. Two massage shops in the whole village and no convenience stores back then.

Was mostly Western European and Scandinavians, but not really that many doing business other than restaurants with their wives.

Now it’s a hive of massage shops (90% of them dodgy), tattoo shops and cannabis shops with a 7-11 every 100 metres. A lot of the shop signage is in Russian as well as Thai and English and at quite a few places only in Russian

I spend less and less time at my house there, maybe less than 3 months a year these days.