Anutin orders nationwide nominee crackdown amid EEC land concerns
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul orders nationwide inspections into nominee landholdings after concerns over Chinese-linked capital in the EEC.
PM says industrial estates require full legal approval
Prime Minister and Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has ordered police and relevant agencies to inspect suspected nominee landholdings nationwide, following concerns over Chinese-linked capital acquiring large plots in the Eastern Economic Corridor to develop illegal industrial estates.
Anutin rejected claims that illegal industrial estates could be operating in the EEC, saying any such development would require official approval, utility systems and compliance with multiple legal conditions before it could proceed.
He said the establishment of an industrial estate was subject to strict legal procedures and could not be carried out informally or outside the law. Relevant agencies have therefore been instructed to investigate suspected violations and expand probes into nominee networks found to be involved in unlawful land ownership.
Crackdown to target nominee networks nationwide
Anutin said the government was already taking action against nominee arrangements, citing recent operations in Phuket and Koh Phangan in Surat Thani, where authorities had raided suspected illegal sites and revoked unlawful land rights.
He said the enforcement drive was intended to reassure both the public and investors that Thailand remained governed by law, and that anyone found breaching land ownership rules would face legal consequences.
The prime minister said ordinary citizens who made an honest living must not be intimidated or disadvantaged by illegal business practices, adding that he was closely monitoring the issue and had ordered the most decisive action possible.
Fast Track policy must avoid agency conflicts
Asked about the role of the Eastern Economic Corridor Office and the government’s Fast Track policy to speed up approval procedures in the EEC, Anutin said each agency must work within its own legal framework to avoid overlapping authority or jurisdictional disputes.
He stressed that investment promotion should not be limited to the EEC, saying the government wanted to support investment across the country in line with broader national economic policy.
“Under this administration, when we act, we act with full force,” Anutin said. “We have warned against challenging Thai law because it damages investor confidence. The country is governed by law, and those who break it will be punished.”
