Police in Chon Buri raided a metal company in Ban Bueng district on Thursday, 8 October, over suspicions it was operating through a Chinese nominee arrangement, and arrested a Chinese man already wanted by a court.
Ban Bueng Police Station led the operation with Chon Buri Immigration, the Ban Bueng district administration office and the Chon Buri Provincial Commerce Office. Officers searched the company in Moo 1, Nong Sam Sak subdistrict, between 8am and 12pm.
The search was carried out under a Chon Buri Provincial Court warrant. Officers seized documents that police said were evidence of the alleged offences.
During the raid, officers found Xiaopo Hao, who was wanted under a separate Chon Buri Provincial Court arrest warrant.
Police allege that Xiaopo, as a foreigner, let Thai nationals hold shares in a limited company on his behalf so he could run a business while avoiding the Foreign Business Act. He was also charged with operating a business as a foreigner in breach of Section 8(3) of the act.
Officers told him the charges and his rights, then took him to Ban Bueng Police Station for further legal action.
Nominee businesses are those where Thai nationals hold shares in name only on behalf of foreigners, which police say is used to get around restrictions on foreign ownership.
In similar news:
- Foreign-invested companies hold 1.06 million rai of Thai land
- House committee presses crackdown on foreign nominee property in Pattaya
- Thailand reviews citizenship rules amid foreign nominee concerns
The story Chon Buri police raid suspected Chinese nominee metal company as seen on Thaiger News.
