At Koh Samui International Airport, Thai customs officers detained a 61-year-old Singaporean woman accused of using a Thai national as a nominee for her illegal property investments.
On 4 May 2026, at around 19:50, officers from the Surat Thani Provincial Immigration, stationed at the incoming passports counter at the Koh Samui International Airport, spotted Ms Janis, a 61-year-old Singaporean national. She was arriving from Singapore on Bangkok Airways flight PG968.
During passport control, the officers discovered that the suspect was listed on an arrest warrant from the Bangkok Criminal Court no. 2253/2569, issued on 21 April 2026. They immediately took her into custody and informed her of her rights through an interpreter.
The charges relate to: “Being a foreigner engaging in a commercial activity in violation of article 8 without permission; consenting to a Thai national assisting or supporting a foreigner in conducting a commercial activity by circumventing or violating the law; and being a director, partner or authorised person of a legal entity, knowing or tolerating offences committed by that entity under articles 36 and 37, or failing to take the necessary measures to prevent them.”
Ms Janis admitted to being the person named in the warrant and stated that she had never been arrested in this case before. The officers transferred her to the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), which is attached to the Ministry of Justice, for judicial proceedings.
In this case, the suspect had acquired a villa on a hillside in a property development opposite Pak Krong market, near Koh Samui Airport, in Bo Phut subdistrict. She had then set up a shell company using a Thai nominee to circumvent restrictions on land ownership by foreigners. The company, of which Ms Janis was a director, conducted no real business despite being officially registered.