Commerce Ministry moves against 140 accountants in nominee crackdown

The Commerce Ministry is preparing action against 140 “grey accountants” as part of a nationwide crackdown on the use of Thai nominees to conceal foreign ownership in restricted businesses.

Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, Director-General of the Department of Business Development (DBD), said the department had worked with relevant agencies over the past eight months to prevent and suppress the use of Thai nationals as proxy shareholders, or nominees, for foreign investors.

The move aims to ensure fair trade and protect Thailand’s economic interests.

The department is focusing on six high-risk business groups: tourism and related businesses, real estate, e-commerce and logistics, hotels and resorts, agriculture, and construction.

Poonpong said the DBD had issued an order requiring Thai shareholders in companies jointly invested with foreign nationals — where foreigners hold less than half of the shares and the company remains legally Thai — to submit three months of bank statements from the date capital or share payments were made.

The measure, which took effect on January 1, 2026, is intended to prove whether Thai shareholders have genuine financial capacity to invest.

The DBD said the measure helped reduce the number of nominee-risk company registrations by 51.05% from January 1 to March 31, 2026, compared with the same period last year.

After additional investment-verification measures were introduced on April 1, 2026, the number of nominee-risk firms fell by a further 65.22% between April 1 and May 31.

The department is preparing another round of stricter measures, expected to take effect on August 1, 2026, after public hearings are completed.

Accountants found holding shares in 2,040 foreign-linked firms

The DBD recently investigated accountants and accounting firms that held shares in high-risk companies across eight provinces: Chon Buri, Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Surat Thani, Phuket, Krabi and Phang Nga.

The investigation found 29 accounting firms and 140 accountants holding shares in 2,040 companies with foreign investment. The combined value of their shares was 2.53 billion baht.

Poonpong said the findings suggested two possibilities: either these accountants were wealthy enough to invest in a large number of businesses, or they may have acted as nominees for foreign nationals seeking to operate businesses in Thailand.

The accountants were based both inside and outside the eight provinces, including some in Bangkok.

Most of the companies were found in real estate, tourism-related businesses, restaurants, souvenir shops, car rental, supermarkets, property and other service businesses.

The DBD has already forwarded the information to relevant agencies for action under their authority.

On June 30, the department will invite the Lawyers Council of Thailand, the Federation of Accounting Professions and seven accounting-related associations for talks on supervising more than 80,000 accountants nationwide.

The goal is to ensure accountants comply with the law, help monitor foreign business activities, and avoid being used as tools by foreign nationals seeking to exploit legal loopholes to operate restricted businesses in Thailand.

Two naturalised individuals under scrutiny

Poonpong said the department is also monitoring two people of foreign origin who have obtained Thai nationality and used that status to register juristic persons.

In these cases, the two individuals reportedly held more than 50% of the shares, while the remaining shareholders were foreign nationals. This allowed the firms to be registered as Thai companies and carry out various business activities.

“On the surface, they appear to be Thai companies. But in reality, all shareholders are foreigners. This is worrying. There may not be many cases yet, but they have already begun to emerge. We must examine how they obtained Thai nationality,” Poonpong said.

The DBD has notified relevant agencies to investigate further.

Financial trails to face tighter checks

Poonpong said the next measure, scheduled for August 1, will involve a DBD order to examine financial trails linked to investment in company shares, including whether funds were genuinely invested and how money was transferred.

The measure will be implemented in two phases.

In the first phase, investors will be required to submit bank statements or account transaction records together with business registration documents.

In the second phase, the department will link data with financial institutions to allow real-time checks and reduce the use of nominee structures in company registrations.

Foreign food-delivery apps also under probe

The DBD is also examining foreign-linked food-delivery applications operating in the Huai Khwang area.

Three companies have been identified. The first was established on September 21, 2020, the second on September 1, 2021, and the third on August 3, 2023.

Initial checks found that two of them were companies in which Thai nationals held more than half the shares, while one was a foreign company.

The DBD is investigating whether the two Thai-registered companies are using Thai shareholders as nominees for foreign nationals. It is also checking whether the foreign company has obtained proper permission to operate under the Foreign Business Act.

If the department finds that Thai nationals are being used as proxy shareholders, or that a foreign company is operating without permission, legal action will be taken decisively, Poonpong said.