THAI NOMINEES: NINE PHUKET COMPANIES INVESTIGATED

THAI NOMINEES: NINE PHUKET COMPANIES INVESTIGATED

Officials are looking into nine more Phuket companies on an ever-expanding list to see if Thai nominees are being used to circumvent the rule that limits certain enterprises to Thai nationals.

According to Yutthana Praedam of the Department of Special Investigation, an initial investigation completed yesterday reveals that the nine companies in question are compliant with the law, which states that a foreign national may not hold more than 49% of a business. To make sure the Thai stockholders on the list are more than just nominees, additional verification will be done.

According to a Bangkok Post report, the businesses are also being investigated to ensure they have all the correct licences to offer services such as tour guides. The investigation is a joint operation involving officials from the Department of Business Development, the Department of Tourism, the Immigration Bureau, and the Tourist Police Bureau.

One of the businesses being investigated is the Green Elephant Sanctuary Park run by Swiss national Urs Fehr. Fehr is currently at the centre of an assault case after allegedly kicking a female doctor as she sat on the steps leading to his rented Cape Yamu villa.

The subsequent investigation uncovered the fact that the steps were illegally built on a public beach and they have now been demolished. Officials are now investigating discrepancies in the issuance of land title deeds for plots along Yamu Beach, where the incident occurred.

It’s understood that aerial surveys have offered no indication that the area was previously used for agricultural cultivation, which was the reason given when Sor Khor 1 land occupation documents were issued in 1974. The titles were reportedly upgraded to Nor Sor 3 Kor certificates in 2005.