Thailand targets foreign nominee companies and land ownership loopholes

Thai authorities and lawmakers are intensifying efforts to combat the use of nominee structures, where foreign investors use Thai nationals to bypass ownership restrictions. A House committee is currently pressing for a systemic crackdown on nominee businesses in tourist hubs like Pattaya, following the identification of approximately 14,000 companies fitting the nominee profile during a recent enforcement phase.

In Chonburi, police have targeted groups, including Russian nationals, who allegedly used companies to hold hundreds of houses. Nationwide, officials have identified over 36,000 foreign-invested companies holding more than 300,000 land plots. The Anti-Money Laundering Office has also been active, seizing or freezing assets worth billions of baht in related investigations.

To address the root cause, Senator Prathum Wongsawat has proposed allowing 100% foreign ownership for businesses that provide 100% of the capital. She argues that the current 49% ownership cap encourages corruption by forcing investors to use illegal nominee shareholders to maintain control. By legalizing full ownership, the senator aims to convert “grey capital” into taxable “white capital” and ensure legal ownership matches actual financial investment.