Koh Phangan land dispute raises questions over nominee businesses
A news programme examines a public-land dispute at a former mining site on Koh Phangan and wider concerns over foreign capital, nominee firms and weak law enforcement.
- A 30-year land dispute on Koh Phangan's Laem Son Beach, where businesses operate on public land without legal title deeds, is a key example of a wider problem.
- The dispute highlights growing concerns about foreign capital using Thai "nominee" businesses to circumvent laws on land ownership and business operations.
- Weak law enforcement and the failure to enforce existing court rulings are cited as primary reasons why these illegal land occupations and nominee arrangements persist.
- Local sources allege that "networks of Thais" actively assist foreign investors in acquiring land and setting up companies, prompting calls for a systemic anti-corruption investigation.
The programme “Truth Investigation” visited Koh Phangan in Surat Thani province on Friday (September 4, 2026) to examine problems linked to the growing presence of foreign capital and businesses in accommodation, restaurants and real estate, with a particular focus on the dispute over Laem Son Beach, a former mining area dating back more than 30 years.
Several decades after it became known around the world for the Full Moon Party, Koh Phangan in Surat Thani is now confronting another side of growth as foreign money and capital pour into accommodation, restaurants, yoga, real estate and long-term land leases.
The origins of Laem Son Beach and the 30-year dispute
Laem Son Beach was formerly a mining area.
After the mining concession ended more than 30 years ago, local people gradually occupied plots and erected buildings.
Information indicated that the area originally covered about 12.8 hectares, but currents later carried sand ashore and deposited it, extending the beach and bringing its total area to around 19.04 hectares.
As seafront land increased in economic value, accommodation businesses, restaurants, resorts and numerous other structures appeared.
One operator said they had begun developing the area in 1983 and held a valid business registration, but had “no land title documents”, marking the start of the dispute.
Checks found several occupants, with one figure putting the number at 14 while another part of the account referred to 13.
The key issue is distinguishing between having lived there for many years and holding legal rights to the land, as the area is “public land for common use”.
Why does the area remain unchanged despite a court victory?
Pittaya Inkong, a former mayor of Phet Phangan Subdistrict Municipality who pursued the matter through the legal process, said that although legal action had been taken and the structures had been built on land without title documents, conditions in the area had not changed because enforcement by state and local authorities was difficult.
When municipal officials went to put up notices, however, it emerged that an official at the level of municipal clerk had been transferred out of the area.
Whether the transfer was connected to the performance of official duties requires examination.
If a court ruling cannot be enforced in practice, the law on paper is meaningless.
From Laem Son Beach to the wider problem of nominees and foreign capital
“Problems on Koh Phangan are not confined to Laem Son Beach but extend to land, construction and nominee businesses.
The expansion of foreign capital stems partly from weak law enforcement.
There are also questions about ‘networks of Thais’ that provide assistance with finding land, lobbying for permits and setting up companies,” said Dr Preecha Thongyad, a property businessman from Koh Phangan.
The problem has also spread to encroachment in mountainous areas, where excavation has taken place and machinery has been brought in, but those responsible have not been found.
Yet changes to the environment are visible.
Local residents ultimately stressed that the issue was not one of generalising about foreign tourists who complied with the law, but about “some groups of Thais” who were willing to open the way and help circumvent the law.
Any examination by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) and other state agencies must therefore cover the entire system, from beginning to end, to ensure that no one is above Thai law.
Source: NationTV
