Immigration authorities in Surat Thani inspected a suspicious hotel on Koh Phangan, revealing full control by an Israeli despite a Thai facade, leading to immediate legal proceedings.
In Surat Thani, immigration police launched an operation against suspicious hotels using nominee companies to conceal their true foreign ownership. The hotel located in Ban Tai village, Koh Phangan district, was de facto run by an Israeli citizen.
Major General Chutharot Yingyong Damrongsak, head of immigration police for the 6th region, stated that the order came from Lieutenant General Phanumas Boonyalak, head of National Immigration. The inspections particularly target tourist areas such as Phuket and Surat Thani, where foreigners engage in numerous illegal business activities via nominees.
Led by Colonel Narawat Phutthawiro, head of provincial immigration police, and Mr Phaisit Thongjem, administrator of Koh Phangan district, the team searched the establishment in village 4, Ban Tai. Suspicions centred on foreign ownership and a large number of immigrant workers.
The hotel belongs to a company in which a Thai holds 51% of the shares and an Israeli 49%. Investigators nevertheless discovered that the Israeli managed everything, with the Thai shareholder having neither invested nor taken part in management.
« Surat Thani provincial immigration police therefore compiled the evidence and filed a complaint with Lieutenant Colonel Natthaphong Rom Sai, deputy head of investigations at Koh Phangan station, against a Thai shareholder, an Israeli and two corporate entities for “nominee”, in violation of the 1999 Foreign Business Act. »
This operation forms part of the policy of the Prime Minister, National Police Commander-in-Chief Kitirat Phanphhet and Immigration Chief Phanumas Boonyalak, aimed at eradicating transnational crimes and foreigners circumventing the law.
« We call on foreigners residing in Thailand to scrupulously respect the law: any violation will result in relentless prosecutions, as these practices usurp jobs from Thais. »