Police arrested 11 foreign suspects and seized assets worth more than 6 billion baht (US$179 million) yesterday, October 10, in raids on four luxury housing estates in Bangkok. The operation targeted foreigners accused of using Thai nominees to own houses and land.
It was the eighth phase of a crackdown on illegal foreign property ownership. Officers from the Immigration Bureau and Metropolitan Police Bureau searched 17 locations across Bang Na, Suan Luang, Rama IX, Srinakarin and Krungthep Kreetha.
National police chief Pol Gen Samran Nuanma told a media briefing that police held 86 arrest warrants for foreign suspects and arrested 11 people, 10 Chinese nationals and one American.
The case began with information from the Chinese embassy in Thailand about three suspects wanted in China, one over a murder case involving three deaths in 2018 and two over fraud. Police linked them to companies holding houses and land in two estates in Rama IX-Srinakarin and Krungthep Kreetha, where properties are priced at 50 million to 98 million baht.
Police also linked the murder suspect to scam operations.
Investigators worked with local administrations, the Department of Business Development, the Department of Lands and the Revenue Department. They identified 95 companies suspected of using Thai nationals as nominees to own 94 houses and plots of land.
Three more company partners were also wanted. Two are subject to Interpol Red Notices over alleged involvement in organised online fraud groups, and one is wanted under a Phra Khanong Criminal Court warrant issued on May 25, 2023. The charges include importing goods without customs clearance, involvement in a secret criminal society and unlawful land ownership by a foreign national.
In similar news:
- Chon Buri police raid suspected Chinese nominee metal company
- Foreign-invested companies hold 1.06 million rai of Thai land
- Thailand nominee crackdown cuts new filings by 75%
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