Deputy PM denies family’s golf course encroaches on reform land
Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has responded to allegations that a golf course owned by his family in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Pak Chong district might be encroaching on agricultural reform land.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives intends to examine the land title of the Rancho Charnvee Resort & Country Club, owned by the Bhumjaithai Party leader and current interior minister.
Anutin stated that the accusations were politically motivated and expressed his willingness to defend himself. Thanadol Suwannarit, an adviser to the agriculture minister, indicated to Inside Thailand that this investigation stems from the illegal expansion of the Lam Takong self-help settlement project in Nakhon Ratchasima. Initial findings revealed encroachment on various prohibited areas including forest reserves, national parks, watershed zones, Treasury Department land, and Agricultural Land Reform Office (ALRO) reform areas.
Thanadol explained that legal loopholes allowed land rights to be issued to settlement members, which could be converted to full land title deeds after five years. The disputed 40,000-rai plot spans eight subdistricts in Pak Chong, near Khao Yai National Park, and includes a hotel owned by a political lobbyist and an unnamed politician’s golf course. Although Thanadol noted that the golf course possessed a legal land rights document, the ministry plans to investigate how the land was acquired, given its location within ALRO areas.
Anutin clarified that the golf course is a family enterprise, with legal land titles issued decades ago, and he is prepared to provide the necessary documents for examination. He criticised the investigation as unsportsmanlike.
This controversy is the latest in a series of land ownership disputes involving affluent politicians in the governing coalition. The agriculture ministry, led by the Kla Dharma Party, saw its influential figure Thamanat Prompow depart from the Palang Pracharath Party. The Interior Ministry, under Anutin’s party, recently revoked the land title of the Alpine Golf and Sports Club in Pathum Thani, owned by the Shinawatra family, a move perceived by some as retribution.
The Ministry of Transport, aligned with the Pheu Thai Party, has been attempting to reclaim land in Buriram’s Khao Kradong district. The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) is accusing the Department of Lands, under the Interior Ministry, of wrongdoing in issuing land titles to occupants, which include a football stadium and a race track owned by Newin Chidchob, a significant figure in the Bhumjaithai Party, reported Bangkok Post.
Anutin’s family holds the majority share in Sino-Thai Engineering and Construction Plc, where he served as CEO before his political career.
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