Government to implement measures against illegal ‘nominees’

The Ministry of Commerce has scheduled a meeting of the board tasked with addressing issues related to illegal foreign goods and businesses for Monday. The meeting aims to finalise and implement strict measures against illegal "nominee" practices to ensure fairness for Thai entrepreneurs.

Commerce Minister Pichai Naripthaphan announced on Saturday that the committee will focus on expediting tangible solutions in the short, medium, and long terms.

He said the prime minister has expressed concern about the hardships faced by citizens impacted by concealed foreign-nominee businesses in Thailand. Many of these operations are linked to illegal business networks and online crimes that deceive both businesses and the public.

To address this issue, a committee has been established to develop policies and urgent measures to prevent and suppress illegal foreign goods and businesses.

Recently, two subcommittees were formed: the Subcommittee on Preventing and Suppressing Concealed Foreign Nominee Businesses and the Subcommittee on Promoting and Upgrading Thai SMEs and Addressing the Issue of Substandard Foreign Goods.

These subcommittees, chaired by Deputy Minister of Commerce Napintorn Srisunpang, will collaborate with relevant agencies to tackle these challenges effectively.

Pichai announced a recent operation conducted by the Department of Business Development and the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of the Royal Thai Police. The operation involved 46 raids across the country, uncovering illegal activities linked to 442 companies with registered capital totalling 1.189 billion baht and damages exceeding 3.6 billion baht.

The offenders allegedly registered companies to conceal illegal business operations, including retail shops, restaurants, supermarkets, tour operators, warehouses, currency and digital money exchanges, and real-estate holdings. Many of these companies were found to be non-operational, serving instead as fronts for illicit activities such as online scams, call-centre fraud, and money-laundering.

On November 4, the Department of Business Development and the CIB signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to combat nominee schemes and the use of shell companies. This partnership includes linking corporate data with the CIB's centralised database to enhance analytical capabilities for identifying and prosecuting suspect businesses.

This collaborative effort aims to eradicate nominee practices and shell-company accounts, aligning with the government's policy to address these issues. The recent operation is a direct result of the MoU and demonstrates tangible progress in tackling these challenges, the government claims.

Pichai further instructed the Department of Business Development to tighten business-registration protocols to prevent future misuse of corporate registrations. This includes monitoring high-risk companies for nominee activities and collaborating with law enforcement to prosecute offenders.

These measures are intended to alleviate the impact on affected citizens, reduce social and economic issues, and strengthen Thailand's economic integrity.