The Department of Provincial Administration’s special operations unit raided three locations in Pattaya on August 21, working alongside the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) and Royal Thai Police to dismantle a suspected nominee network accused of using Thai citizens to illegally hold land and run businesses on behalf of foreign investors.
Deputy Minister of Interior Worasit Liangprasit and Justice Minister Police Lieutenant General Rutthapol Naowarat oversaw the raids, carried out under a Criminal Court search warrant in Bang Lamung district, Chon Buri.
Investigators say the network is linked to Cosy Beach View Company Limited, whose board includes an Israeli national. The company allegedly used Thai citizens as nominee shareholders to disguise foreign ownership, a practice traced back to 2010.
Officials searched three sites. The first was KT International Law Office, which they allege was paid to supply Thai employees’ names as nominee shareholders for foreign clients. The second was the Chillad Avenue Hotel in Pattaya, where investigators found a complex, layered shareholder structure. The third was Cosy Beach View Company Limited itself, which shares ownership links with Lotus Paradise Development Company Limited. Officials estimate the network’s combined assets at several hundred million baht (tens of millions of US dollars).
Officers seized and sealed business documents, computer equipment and electronic data from all three sites for forensic examination. The case will proceed under the Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542 (1999), with officials saying further legal action against the individuals and companies involved is expected.
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