Huai Khwang targeted in nominee firm crackdown

Thailand's Department of Business Development (DoBD) has ramped up its efforts to combat nominee shareholding schemes and illegal financial operations, focusing on businesses in Bangkok's Huai Khwang district. This area is increasingly known as a hub for Chinese-run establishments, including restaurants and eateries.

The operation, a joint effort with the House Committee on Anti-Money Laundering and Narcotics Suppression and other government agencies, targeted five businesses. These included restaurants, shrimp-fishing ponds, and a spa. The investigation aimed to uncover potential links between these businesses and online gambling networks, as well as instances of money laundering and suspicious payment systems.

Authorities found suspected irregularities in three of the five inspected entities. One case involved a shrimp-fishing pond business where investigators discovered promotional material linked to online gambling websites. Police seized accounting documents and equipment believed to be connected to gambling activities. Another inspected business was a Chinese soup restaurant associated with two companies, where a single foreign national served as director and shareholder in both. Payments were reportedly transferred directly to the personal bank account of a foreign director, and the business was also involved in promoting online gambling.

Officials also examined a wellness and spa operator where all shareholders and directors were Thai nationals. However, another company operating from the same building, selling amulets and talismans and jointly owned by Thai and Chinese shareholders, was found closed during the inspection. Evidence gathered will undergo further analysis, with potential prosecution under anti-money laundering laws for offenders found to have concealed assets linked to criminal activities.

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the inspection was carried out on Tuesday by the department's anti-nominee task force in cooperation with officials from the Huai Khwang district office, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Economic Crime Suppression Division.