Thailand's DBD steps up nominee crackdown with finance checks
The department says bookkeepers and accounting offices held stakes in 2,040 companies with foreign co-investors, with shares worth THB2.52865 billion.
- Thailand's Department of Business Development (DBD) is intensifying its crackdown on "nominee" businesses, where Thai nationals are used to conceal foreign ownership.
- The new enforcement requires Thai shareholders in companies with foreign co-investment to submit three months of financial evidence, such as bank statements, to prove their investment capacity.
- An investigation uncovered over 2,040 companies in high-risk sectors like tourism and real estate where bookkeepers and accounting firms held shares worth over THB 2.5 billion, suggesting they were acting as nominees.
- Tougher measures will take effect on August 1, involving closer examination of shareholders' financial trails, with future plans to link directly with financial institutions for real-time data verification.
The Department of Business Development (DBD) is pressing ahead with a crackdown on nominee businesses after finding that many bookkeepers and accounting offices held stakes in companies with foreign shareholders in eight high-risk provinces, involving more than 2,040 companies and combined share values of more than THB2.528 billion.
The department is preparing to tighten anti-nominee measures by closely examining shareholders’ financial trails, with enforcement to begin on Saturday (August 1, 2026).
Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, director-general of the Department of Business Development under the Ministry of Commerce, said that over the past eight months, the department, together with related agencies, had stepped up efforts to prevent and suppress the use of Thai nationals as concealed representatives, or “nominees”, to ensure trade fairness and protect the country’s economic interests.
The inspections focused on six main high-risk business groups, namely:
- Tourism and related businesses
- Real estate businesses
- E-commerce and logistics
- Hotels and resorts
- Agricultural businesses
- Construction businesses
The department has issued a notice requiring Thai shareholders who invest jointly with foreign nationals, where foreign investment is less than half of the company, and the company therefore remains a Thai juristic person, to submit three months of financial evidence, or bank statements, dating back from the date of payment for capital or shares, to prove their real investment capacity.
The measure has been in force since Thursday (January 1), reducing the number of nominee-risk companies by 51.05% from Thursday (January 1) to Tuesday (March 31).
The figures were compared with the same period of the previous year. The department introduced additional investment-verification measures on Wednesday (April 1), resulting in a further 65.22% decline in nominee-risk companies from Wednesday (April 1) to Sunday (May 31).
It is also preparing tougher additional measures expected to take effect on Saturday (August 1), with public consultation underway.
Most recently, the department inspected bookkeepers and accounting offices holding shares in companies in risk groups in eight provinces: Chon Buri, Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Surat Thani, Phuket, Krabi and Phang Nga.
It found 29 accounting offices and 140 bookkeepers holding shares in 2,040 companies with foreign co-investment.
The combined share value was THB2.52865 billion, suggesting that these bookkeepers were likely people of means who were able to invest in a large number of businesses, or, alternatively, were acting as nominees for foreign nationals doing business in Thailand.
They included bookkeepers based in the eight provinces, in other provinces and in Bangkok who became involved.
An examination of the top 10 bookkeepers found the following shareholdings:
- Shares in 212 companies, with an investment value of THB247.57 million
- Shares in 147 companies, worth THB142.21 million
- Shares in 121 companies, worth THB211.50 million
- Shares in 70 companies, worth THB96.57 million
- Shares in 61 companies, worth THB64.91 million
- Shares in 51 companies, worth THB27.21 million
- Shares in 45 companies, worth THB107.21 million
- Shares in 40 companies, worth THB74.74 million
- Shares in 40 companies, worth THB24.71 million
- Shares in 40 companies, worth THB18.78 million
Most were in real estate businesses, tourism-related businesses, restaurants, souvenir shops, car rental operators, supermarkets, real estate and various service businesses.
The department has already sent the information to relevant agencies for action according to their authority.
The department will invite the Lawyers Council of Thailand under the Royal Patronage, the Federation of Accounting Professions under the Royal Patronage of His Majesty the King, and seven accounting-related associations for talks on Tuesday (June 30). The talks will focus on supervising more than 80,000 accountants, ensuring legal compliance, monitoring foreign nationals doing business in Thailand, and preventing accountants from being used by foreigners exploiting loopholes to operate in the country.
“The department is currently monitoring two foreign nationals who have obtained Thai nationality and used their status as Thai nationals to register juristic persons by holding more than 50% of the shares, while the remaining shareholders are foreign nationals. This makes the companies Thai companies and enables them to conduct various businesses.”
“We have found two cases. At first glance, they look like Thai-owned companies, but in fact, they are entirely foreign-held. This is a worrying matter. Although there are not many, they have begun to emerge. We have to examine how they obtained Thai nationality, and we have notified the relevant agencies to help inspect the matter,” Poonpong said.
Poonpong said the next measure, on Saturday (August 1), would be for the department to issue a departmental order on examining the financial trails of investments used to hold shares in companies, to determine whether the investments and money transfers were genuine.
The work would be carried out in two phases.
In the first phase, investors would be required to submit financial evidence, or bank statements, together with registration.
In phase 2, the system would link with financial institutions to verify data in real time to reduce nominee company registrations.
As for foreign food-delivery applications providing services, the department found three companies operating in the Huai Khwang area.
The first began operating on Monday (September 21, 2020), the second on Wednesday (September 1, 2021), and the third on Thursday (August 3, 2023).
After inspecting their shareholding structures, the department found that two companies had Thai shareholders holding more than half the shares, and one was a foreign company.
It is examining whether the companies classed as Thai companies are holding shares on behalf of foreign nationals, and whether the foreign company is operating without proper permission under the Foreign Business Act.
If Thai nationals are found to have held shares on behalf of foreigners, or if a business is found to have operated without permission, strict legal action will be taken.
