Skip to content
View in the app

A better way to browse. Learn more.

ASEAN NOW

A full-screen app on your home screen with push notifications, badges and more.

To install this app on iOS and iPadOS
  1. Tap the Share icon in Safari
  2. Scroll the menu and tap Add to Home Screen.
  3. Tap Add in the top-right corner.
To install this app on Android
  1. Tap the 3-dot menu (⋮) in the top-right corner of the browser.
  2. Tap Add to Home screen or Install app.
  3. Confirm by tapping Install.

Israeli couple blame Thai lawyer after Koh Samui arrest

Featured Replies

An Israeli property developer and his wife, arrested in a Koh Samui investigation into alleged nominee-shareholder arrangements, say a Thai lawyer and accountant were responsible for guiding their business setup.

Gal Bieber, 45, and his wife Roni Bieber were arrested by police from Bo Phut Police Station and Surat Thani Immigration. The Samui Provincial Court had reportedly issued 20 arrest warrants for Israeli nationals linked to the wider investigation.

Roni Bieber denied the accusations in an interview with The Jerusalem Post, saying she and her husband had intended to comply with Thai laws and had followed advice from local professionals.

"We respect Thai law and the authorities. All our actions were accompanied by a Thai lawyer and accountant who told us how to do everything and accompanied us when the companies were opened, and the businesses were established.

"We placed our full trust in them and did as they instructed, but when the law changed, they disappeared and took no responsibility, and because they are Thai, they are free from law enforcement," Roni said.

Police allege nominee ownership structure

Investigators reportedly found that Thai nationals had been named as shareholders in companies in order to conceal foreign ownership of land, property and businesses restricted under Thai law.

According to local reports, Israeli nationals were the largest group of foreigners targeted in the operation.

Police allege that Bieber's network used Thai shareholders in a corporate structure to acquire, develop and rent luxury properties on Koh Samui. Many of those properties were marketed towards Israeli customers.

The investigation further alleges that businesses were operated without the required permissions, including an international school and luxury pool villas.

Authorities are continuing to examine financial transactions and investigate other people allegedly involved in the network. Officials are also working to seize and freeze assets connected to the case.

What the case means for foreign investors

The case is a reminder for foreigners buying property or establishing companies in Thailand that local professional advice does not, by itself, determine whether a business structure complies with Thai law.

Roni Bieber said all shareholders, including the Thai nationals, took part in the business activities. The Jerusalem Post reported that she and Gal Bieber had been released on bail while the investigation continues.

Join the discussion? Create account. orange.png


image.png

22 August 2026


View full article

  • Replies 100
  • Views 2.6k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Most Popular Posts

  • SAFETY FIRST
    SAFETY FIRST

    Ha ha, that's the way, plead ignorance. Smart enough to property develop, not smart enough to know basics laws 😂

  • it is what it is
    it is what it is

    honor among thieves eh? all parties knew exactly what they were up to. anyway, ignorance is not a legal defense.

  • DonniePeverley
    DonniePeverley

    Literally every man and his dog knew the rules. Don't act stupid.

Posted Images

  • Popular Post
14 minutes ago, Georgealbert said:

Israeli property developer and his wife, arrested in a Koh Samui investigation into alleged nominee-shareholder arrangements, say a Thai lawyer and accountant were responsible for guiding their business setup.

Ha ha, that's the way, plead ignorance.

Smart enough to property develop, not smart enough to know basics laws 😂

  • Popular Post

honor among thieves eh? all parties knew exactly what they were up to.

anyway, ignorance is not a legal defense.

  • Popular Post

Literally every man and his dog knew the rules.

Don't act stupid.

  • Popular Post

Might I suggest an appropriate Jewish quote about personal accountability for the Biebers.

Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) 4:22 : "Know that everything is according to the reckoning"!

This core teaching emphasizes that every individual is completely accountable for their choices and actions.

  • Popular Post
1 hour ago, Jim Waldron said:

Might I suggest an appropriate Jewish quote about personal accountability for the Biebers.

Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) 4:22 : "Know that everything is according to the reckoning"!

This core teaching emphasizes that every individual is completely accountable for their choices and actions.

Except when caught out.

  • Popular Post
3 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

"We placed our full trust in them and did as they instructed, but when the law changed, they disappeared and took no responsibility, and because they are Thai, they are free from law enforcement," Roni said.

Section 1. Foreign Business Act

This Act is called the “Foreign Business Act, B.E. 2542 (1999)".

  • Popular Post

Yes, it’s always someone else’s fault—anything to avoid taking responsibility or acknowledging wrongdoing and criminal conduct. Blaming others instead is a typical Israeli trait.

Edited by BMW Overlander

  • Popular Post
3 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

Ha ha, that's the way, plead ignorance.

Smart enough to property develop, not smart enough to know basics laws 😂

Obviously not as smart you. You’d ignore legal advice from a lawyer and accountant because you’re so much smarter than them. I bow down to you! 🤡

  • Popular Post
1 minute ago, Brettoj said:

Obviously not as smart you. You’d ignore legal advice from a lawyer and accountant because you’re so much smarter than them. I bow down to you! 🤡

You may stand now, peasant. 😎

Edited by SAFETY FIRST

  • Popular Post

I can’t believe all the comments saying that you’d know better than the Thai Lawyer and accountants. That is why you use them so you operate within the law like in all countries. That is where the real crime is, the lawyers etc that arranged these deals!

  • Popular Post
9 minutes ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

You may stand now, peasant. 😎

Thankyou you imbecileship! 🤡

  • Popular Post

Why after serving as Senior Minister in three administrations, during the two decades I've lived here, has Anutin decided to begin, now, to enforce the law? He said/did nothing to disturb the peace; his silence was Golden to the Thai lawyers/agencies prepared to dodge the law. Next he'll be telling us that the 5000+ agents who bribed/cheated their way through the exam has only taken place this year for the 1st time.

As posted elsewhere this forum re: extensions but as maybe applicable here (quote):

Yes but if workarounds exist for years, it also means that rules are not practically enforceable then irrelevant.

Edited by JerryM

Reading this headline with my first cup of coffee this morning , was quite enjoyable and very entertaining

  • Popular Post

Foreign Nationals clever enough to purchase and operate huge buisness operations in Thailand knew the risk and took a chance on 'skirting' the law. I'm pleased Thai laws are being enforced accross all area's

Edited by jippytum
correction

  • Popular Post

When I first came to Thailand 20+ years ago, I was told by a well-regarded expat That "Thailand is for Thais". So often has this statement rang true. Great place to retire but not a good place to set up a private business unless you are an international company in compliance with the Foreign Business Act.

Edited by riverhigh

  • Popular Post

I believe that this is all happening because Auntin dislikes Foreigners and wants to clear them out, or at least a big chunk of them. Maybe it was never an issue until more bigger and bigger projects, land and companies have been bought or built. I can see going after the big companies and land buyers, but I don’t think they should be going for the typical family homes of foreigners and their Thai children. If they start going down that alley then whoever uses an agent to finance their retirement visa’s should be very concerned.

Let’s hope he or they don’t get carried away. Only time will tell, but I do agree that anyone who is even thinking about starting a business should be looking elsewhere.

  • Popular Post

Scammer caught. Done. Blame someone else. SOP.

  • Popular Post

It appears the lawyers made them break the law. Reminds me of the saying Palestinian leadership made us commit all the k1llings.

Of course they blame others. That's what Israelis do best.

Well done I knew that someone couldn’t hold it in and would surely mention the nationality/race of the perps.

  • Popular Post
49 minutes ago, Brettoj said:

I can’t believe all the comments saying that you’d know better than the Thai Lawyer and accountants. That is why you use them so you operate within the law like in all countries. That is where the real crime is, the lawyers etc that arranged these deals!

I agree. Way back, I got ripped off for Bt200,000 and more by lawyers here. If you can't trust those acting for you, who can you trust when you are ignorant of the intricacies of Thai law? Yes, there are always smart arses on these sites that profess to know the ins and outs of a magpies arse. I wonder how smart they really are?

Oy Vey…SHUT IT DOWN…the Goyim are onto us. 🧃🧃🧃

Every Single Time

  • Popular Post

Agree 100% that the Thai lawyer and accountant should be prosecuted to the fullest. They must not be allowed to continue providing legal and financial advice. The problem here is was the Israeli property developer aware that he was using a loophole to circumvent Thai laws. Little doubt in my mind that he knew that using Thai citizens to hold shares on paper, without putting a baht of their own money into the company, was illegal.

  • Popular Post
1 hour ago, BMW Overlander said:

Yes, it’s always someone else’s fault—anything to avoid taking responsibility or acknowledging wrongdoing and criminal conduct. Blaming others instead is a typical Israeli trait.

There was an article circulating online written by this American Jew that spent sometime in the promise land, Israel. He talks about his daily life in Israel and how you are not considered normal if you are not trying to take advantage of someone.

24 minutes ago, Hunz Kittisak said:

Well done I knew that someone couldn’t hold it in and would surely mention the nationality/race of the perps.

Lets be honest , they were never going to get much of a sympathetic response on here were they ?

It is worthwhile going to the Jerusalem Post to read the full article. Additionally having just discusses this with friends living on Koh Tao they inform me that there is much fear and trembling there as Israelis and others have bought up land and built resorts all over the Island. It is a gold mine. As yet little or no real government action is to be seen there.

25 minutes ago, Gandtee said:

Yes, there are always smart arses on these sites that profess to know the ins and outs of a magpies arse. I wonder how smart they really are?

With their growing propensity to copy and paste their AI "research", I reckon they are smarter than the average foreigner investing in Thai property.

1 hour ago, Brettoj said:

Thankyou you imbecileship! 🤡

20 lashings for you, then a beheading.

Off to the gallows heathen. 😡

Edited by SAFETY FIRST

Create an account or sign in to comment

Recently Browsing 0

  • No registered users viewing this page.

Account

Navigation

Search

Search

Configure browser push notifications

Chrome (Android)
  1. Tap the lock icon next to the address bar.
  2. Tap Permissions → Notifications.
  3. Adjust your preference.
Chrome (Desktop)
  1. Click the padlock icon in the address bar.
  2. Select Site settings.
  3. Find Notifications and adjust your preference.