Thai police detain Chinese nationals over 2 billion baht land deal
Concerns grow over foreign control as entire project planned without Thai involvement
Thai police have detained a group led by Chinese nationals suspected of acquiring land valued at 2 billion baht for a luxury condominium project in Rayong province.
The group secured 72 rai of land for a project intended to be managed entirely by Chinese foreigners, from management to construction, as stated by Police Major General Thatphum Jaruprat, chief of the Economic Crime Suppression Division (ECD).
The operation was conducted at three locations in Rayong and Chon Buri, marking the third crackdown following previous raids in Phuket and Bangkok’s Huai Khwang district, as explained by Pol. Maj. Gen. Thatphum during a briefing yesterday, May 1.
Police seized significant documents and are pursuing charges against five board members and shareholders, both Thai and Chinese, alongside supervising engineers, plumbers, and construction workers.
Construction activities have already commenced on land in Rayong reportedly acquired by nominees for Chinese investors.
Investigations identified four registered companies suspected of acting as proxies for Chinese investors.
These companies had purchased land in Rayong and Chon Buri for the purpose of constructing ten eight-storey condominium buildings, totalling 1,821 units.
The group utilised one company to hold shares on behalf of another to obscure the actual ownership, according to ECD Deputy Chief Police Colonel Wichak Tarom.
Chinese nationals managed every phase of the project, from engineering to construction, even establishing a concrete production firm to facilitate the endeavour.
A financial probe exposed transactions exceeding 500 million baht connected to a company registered in Hong Kong.
Items seized by police included seven land title deeds, 48 bank passbooks with combined balances of 72 million baht, a desktop computer, two laptops, three mobile phones, land purchase contracts, six company seals, and seven bank tokens, as detailed by Pol. Col. Krit Woratat, head of ECD sub-division 4.
The ECD plans to forward the land information to the Department of Land, which may compel the companies to restructure their shareholding or sell the properties to Thai nationals, reported Bangkok Post.
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