BANGKOK, Thailand – The Commerce and Interior ministries have agreed to establish a permanent joint team to investigate nominee businesses and foreign landholding arrangements, with officials warning that changing shareholders will not shield those involved from scrutiny. Commerce Minister Suphajee Suthumpun and Deputy Interior Minister Polapee Suwunchwee met with senior officials from both ministries on September 4 to discuss stronger measures against the use of Thai nominees to hold shares or land on behalf of foreigners.
The Department of Business Development, Department of Provincial Administration and Department of Lands will link and exchange information, creating a shared database for cross-checking company registrations, shareholder changes, related individuals and land ownership.
The database will be updated monthly, allowing officials to trace connections across the three areas and investigate changes in ownership structures.
A key part of the plan is to examine historical records rather than relying only on current company structures. Officials said some companies had increased Thai shareholdings after the government intensified its campaign against nominees, apparently to make their documents comply with the law and avoid scrutiny. Polpheer said the public should be confident that changes to shareholder structures would not prevent retrospective investigations. “We have already requested the Department of Business Development to provide historical shareholder-change records, particularly for companies in the target group,” he said.
The investigation will focus on protecting Thai businesses and legitimate operators from unfair competition by foreign capital using nominee arrangements. It will also seek to prevent foreigners from acquiring Thai land through individuals or legal entities acting as nominees. Polpheer said cases would not end with the individuals or companies currently listed in official records. Authorities would trace earlier ownership and expand investigations to all involved parties. Accounting firms, law firms and others who helped establish or register companies could also face legal action if they were found to have knowingly participated in wrongdoing.
State officials who were found to have facilitated illegal activities or used their authority to benefit foreigners would also be investigated and prosecuted without exception. The two ministries will now maintain a permanent working arrangement rather than relying on one-off operations. The linked “company-person-land” data system is intended to close loopholes in nominee arrangements involving both business operations and land ownership.
