Phuket nominee crackdown: 23 guilty, 60 firms busted
Shell companies linked to tax evasion and foreign land grabs spark nationwide enforcement blitz
A massive web of illegal nominee businesses in Phuket has finally unravelled, with 23 people and more than 60 companies found guilty of using fake Thai ownership to skirt the country’s business laws.
The Department of Business Development (DBD) dropped the bombshell yesterday, May 9, confirming that the Criminal Court ruled against the offenders in a major case under Red Case No. A.2812/2567 on September 11, 2024.
“These people broke the law under the Foreign Business Act by allowing foreign nationals to secretly control restricted businesses,” said DBD Director-General Auramon Supthaweethum in a press release.
The guilty parties — a mix of Thai nationals and corporate entities — were sentenced to 10 years in prison. However, their sentences were halved and suspended for two years, thanks to confessions and previously clean criminal records. Each was also slapped with a 200,000 baht fine and placed on a year-long probation. The companies involved must be dissolved immediately, or face daily fines of 10,000 baht.
The scandal centres around nominee arrangements where Thais act as “paper” shareholders or directors, masking true foreign ownership. These shady setups were especially rampant in Phuket’s lucrative real estate sector.
“Law firms and accounting companies were the linchpins,” Auramon stated. “They handled everything from fake shareholder registration to financial management and legal advice, all to help foreigners sidestep Thai business ownership restrictions.”
Investigations estimate that the schemes allowed foreigners to dodge taxes and land transfer fees worth up to 1 billion baht annually.
Once the DBD gathered enough evidence, the case was handed to the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), and later to the public prosecutor, culminating in the court’s landmark verdict. Black Case No. A.2643/2567 ran in parallel, The Phuket News reported.
Auramon warned that such nominee schemes pose serious threats to the Thai economy, reducing fair competition and draining public revenue. She stressed that similar inspections and legal action will continue in hotspot provinces including Chon Buri, Chiang Mai, and Bangkok.
“Thai nationals who participate in nominee structures face severe penalties — up to three years in prison, 1 million baht in fines, and further daily fines for ongoing violations,” she cautioned.
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