SURAT THANI — Police from Region 8 conducted a major operation against nominee networks across 7 provinces, searching 29 targets. In Koh Samui, Surat Thani province, 7 locations were raided on Tuesday.
These targets were connected to a case where Koh Samui Municipality authorized a civil engineer to file a complaint with Bo Phut Police Station against a company that allegedly encroached on land on Chaweng Noi Hill to construct buildings for the “Seabreeze” project. The violations include breaches of the Building Control Act and potentially nominee business operations (using Thai nationals as proxy shareholders).
Surat Thani Provincial Police assigned the Transnational Criminal and Illegal Immigration Suppression Center to investigate the case. The investigation revealed that “Seabreeze” is a luxury villa development project for foreign buyers, owned by a German national with assistance from a law firm.
The Transnational Criminal and Illegal Immigration Suppression Center gathered evidence showing that the law firm was involved in establishing more than 160 companies for foreigners to operate businesses related to villa rentals, restaurants, and tourism services in Koh Samui.
During the February 25 operation, officials searched 7 targets. The first target was the law firm, while targets 2-7 were companies with headquarters and connections to foreigners listed as directors at the same address as the suspicious law firm.
The investigation found that this law firm helped establish 167 companies, all with headquarters at the law firm’s address. At all search locations, officials seized documents related to company registrations, accounting records, investment evidence, legal contracts, tax filing evidence, and employment records relating to shareholders of various companies, as well as computer hard drives for further examination and legal proceedings.
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Previous report:
German Developer Among 16 Charged in Samui Property Fraud Case
