– On the 8th of October, Ban Bueng police searched a metal company in Moo 1 in the Nong Samsak subdistrict, with immigration, district and commerce officers.
– The search followed Chonburi Court warrant K.212/2569. Officers seized documents and detained Mr. Hao, already named on arrest warrant J.556/2569.
– He is accused of allowing Thai nationals to hold shares for a foreigner as nominees so the company could operate in breach of the Foreign Business Act, and of operating a restricted business himself.
– The operation was directed by Chonburi provincial police commander Pol. Maj. Gen. Chatree Suksiri. Hao was taken to Ban Bueng Police Station.
Ban Bueng: Police searched a metal company in the Nong Samsak subdistrict as part of a crackdown on illegal nominee business structures on the 8th of October and arrested a Chinese man already wanted on an open warrant for a nominee charge.
Pol. Col. Krit Masuk, superintendent of Ban Bueng Police Station, led the search with his deputies, officers from the station, Chonburi Immigration, the Ban Bueng district administration and the Chonburi Provincial Commerce Office. The target was a metal company on Moo 1 in Nong Samsak. The search ran from 8 a.m. to noon under a Chonburi Court search warrant, K.212/2569. It was directed by Pol. Maj. Gen. Chatree Suksiri, Chonburi provincial police commander, with his deputies Pol. Col. Wasurat Chaiteerapat and Pol. Col. Kulchat Kulchai.
Officers seized documents they said were linked to the alleged offence. They also found Mr. Hao, named on Chonburi Court arrest warrant J.556/2569. Police said he is accused of being a foreigner who allowed Thai nationals to assist, support or hold shares for a foreigner in a limited company so that a foreigner could do business while avoiding or breaking the Foreign Business Act. He is also accused of operating a business in breach of section 8(3) of that Act, which covers activities reserved for Thais or subject to restrictions. Officers read the charges and his rights, then took him to Ban Bueng Police Station.
The company is listed in public posts as a metal-tech firm in the same subdistrict that has advertised for accounting and finance staff. Police have not released further detail on its ownership structure, the value of any assets, or whether other people will be charged. The case remains at the investigation stage.
The raid sits inside the wider nominee enforcement that has run through Chonburi and the rest of the country this year. In July the Chonburi governor led searches of five Pattaya and Jomtien pool-villa projects suspected of Chinese nominee ownership and illegal hotel use, and said 349 other local businesses and land parcels were flagged for review.
On the 10th of October, national police led the eighth phase of the campaign against luxury estates in Bangkok, placing more than 6 billion baht in homes under investigation.
Under the Foreign Business Act, a foreigner who uses Thai nominees to control a company in a restricted sector can face imprisonment, fines and the forced end of the business. Thai nationals who act as willing fronts face the same. The charges against Hao have not been tested in court.