PHUKET, THAILAND – Thai economic authorities in Phuket targeted an extensive network of suspected shell companies in the tourism sector that appeared to use local nominees for foreign investors.
Coordinated raids in tourism businesses
According to the Department of Business Development (DBD), investigators carried out coordinated searches together with the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), the Phuket Tourist Police, Phuket Immigration, the Provincial Office of Tourism and Sports, and the Phuket Provincial Commerce Office. The checks focused on tour operators, hotels, restaurants and boat rental companies. Officers reported indications that Thai nationals were listed as trustees in corporate registers while actual control rested with foreign investors.
Suspected nominee arrangements to bypass law
Investigators said the irregularities pointed to so‑called nominee schemes in which Thais formally acted as shareholders or directors in order to circumvent legal restrictions. Such structures were suspected of undermining the Foreign Business Act of 1999, which limits foreign participation in certain sectors. The authorities treated these findings as a potential attempt to conceal effective foreign control behind local fronts.
Phuket labelled a high-risk province
Phuket, with its heavily tourism‑dependent economy, was considered a high‑risk province where foreign capital played an especially large role. Out of 29,090 registered firms, more than 11,263 companies, or around 38.7 percent, had foreign investors, according to the DBD, although the nominal foreign share usually remained below 50 percent. Officials viewed this combination of strong tourism reliance and widespread foreign involvement as heightening the risk of nominee practices.
Specific companies summoned and structures exposed
Five companies were already officially summoned to provide detailed disclosures of their ownership and control structures. In three cases, authorities said they found that employees or accountants had been installed as shareholders, while foreign nationals in fact controlled the companies. These examples were cited as evidence of systematically constructed fronts designed to mask effective ownership.
Prosecution pledge from business authorities
DBD Director-General Poonpong Naiyanapakorn announced an uncompromising approach toward the networks under suspicion and those deemed responsible.
“We are determined to enforce the law rigorously in order to secure transparency and fairness in business,”
said Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, DBD Director-General. He added that the department relied on strengthened prevention measures and data‑driven analyses of corporate behaviour to detect and dismantle such arrangements.
Assurances to legitimate foreign investors
At the same time, the responsible authorities stressed that Phuket would remain open to lawful foreign investment. They stated that they aimed to prevent
“dishonest actors from exploiting Thai resources”
said unnamed authorities, while protecting reputable investors whose involvement was regarded as important for the province’s economic development. Officials framed the crackdown as a move to safeguard fair competition rather than to deter compliant foreign businesses.