Thailand's Nominee Crackdown in 2026 So Far: Seven Months Building the Rules, Two Months Enforcing Them Nationwide

Thailand Spent Seven Months Building Nominee Enforcement and Two Months Running It at National Scale #

What Has Thailand's Nominee Crackdown Done in 2026 So Far? #

• How Did the Registration Rules Tighten?
• How Was the Enforcement Machinery Built Before August?
• How Did August and September Change the Scale?
• What Is Still Open at the End of September?
• What Does the Year Mean for Owners and Buyers?
• The Better-than-Freehold™ Solution
• FAQ Section
• Related Terms
• Expert Guidance

How Did the Registration Rules Tighten? #

The DBD issued three Central Registrar orders in seven months, each asking more of the people whose names go on a company. The first reached new incorporations, the second reached amendments bringing in foreign directors or partners, and the third, in force since 1 August, replaced both with one stricter instrument.

Order 2/2568 took effect on 1 January. At incorporation, companies with foreign holdings under 50%, and all-Thai companies with a foreign authorised director, must show where the Thai money came from, including three months of bank statements.¹

Order 1/2569, in force from 1 April, added a written Investment Confirmation Letter from the signing director whenever an amendment brings in a foreign authorised director or foreign partners. A March draft proposed in-person appearances; the final order dropped them.⁷

Order 2/2569 was signed on 14 July and repealed both. Since 1 August an incorporation also needs a written letter explaining the investment and the receiving director's bank statement.²

DBD data for 1 to 23 April counted 175 high-risk company registrations against 658 a year earlier, a fall of about 75%.⁸ On 30 August Commerce Minister Suphajee Suthumpun said a similar August fall, 141 against 561, covered new filings only.⁹

The orders mostly reach new companies and new foreign directors; existing companies needed other tools.

How Was the Enforcement Machinery Built Before August? #

Between January and July Thailand assembled the institutions and tested them in the provinces. Twenty-three agencies signed a joint pact in April, police ran phased raids on Koh Phangan and across Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi, and by late June police were reporting court convictions.

In March, data screening flagged 146 foreign juristic persons in Chon Buri that might be running businesses listed in the Foreign Business Act, and officials in Pattaya inspected four accounting and law offices and revoked four tour licences.¹⁰ On 29 April, 23 agencies signed a memorandum of understanding on preventing nominee use, with Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Suphajee Suthumpun presiding; AMLO and the DSI are among them.³

Koh Phangan became the template. Phase 1 opened on 13 May with 37 cases and 27 searches. Phase 2, ten days later, put more than 300 officers onto 45 warrants and arrested 22 foreigners over 32 companies.¹¹ On 20 June more than 500 officers moved across Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi, and Bangkok Post reported 48 arrests over 89 plots worth THB 1.05 billion.¹²

Two days later police told a Government House briefing that 14 of 105 Koh Phangan nominee cases had resulted in court convictions. They gave no dates.⁴

In July DSI and DBD teams on Samui and Phangan found a law firm with 103 companies registered at one address and more than 150 linked, involving THB 795 million.¹³

How Did August and September Change the Scale? #

From August, whole-register screening went national and began producing orders. The DBD matched land records against the companies it supervises, Koh Pha Ngan's governor began ordering land sales, and September added a permanent Commerce and Interior team and an end-of-month target of more than 11,000 companies.

On 18 August the DBD reported that 123,542 companies hold Thai land titles and that 36,277 carry foreign shareholding. Of those, 31,516 sit at 49% or below, the group asked to show that Thai shareholders genuinely funded their stakes.⁵ Inclusion is not an allegation.

On Koh Pha Ngan all 1,832 land-holding companies were examined; 112 were over the foreign shareholding limit, and the governor ordered eight to sell.¹⁴ In Phuket, Phase 4 prosecuted 16 people on 6 August, and police reported 15 rai and 13 square wah already forcibly sold.¹⁵

September, set out in our month-to-date roundup, made the machinery permanent. Commerce and Interior agreed a standing joint team on 4 September.¹⁶ On 15 September the Deputy Interior Minister said more than 11,000 suspected companies were to be investigated by the end of the month, about 2,200 of them holding land estimated at roughly THB 85 billion.⁶ In Pattaya the DSI said it was preparing summonses.¹⁷

What Is Still Open at the End of September? #

One dated marker and several proposed law changes remain open. The Interior Ministry's 11,000-company target falls due at the end of the month. None of the proposed legislative changes has been enacted, and a People's Party MP for Phuket, a witness and not an accused, attended his final DSI date on 28 September.

On 21 September Justice Minister Rutthaphon Naowarat called 28 September the MP's final date and confirmed, when asked, that an arrest warrant could follow.¹⁸ On 28 September the MP arrived at the DSI, Daily News reported.¹⁹

On the law it is direction, not deadline. A proposed Land Code amendment would replace today's forced sale with forfeiture of the land to the State.²⁰ A proposed amendment to the Anti-Money Laundering Act would make nominee conduct a predicate offence; it sits with a House committee reviewing a bill revived in May after the December 2025 dissolution.²¹ In April the Senate forwarded to Cabinet a committee report recommending an actual-control test under the Foreign Business Act.²² No bill has followed.

What Does the Year Mean for Owners and Buyers? #

For an owner inside a high-risk property-owning company, 2026 ended the idea that a quiet file stays unread, because whole registers are now screened. For a buyer weighing an alternative, every tool built this year looks for one thing, a Thai shareholder standing in for a foreigner.

Under the Land Code as it stands, the Land Department can order land held through a nominee sold. The holder loses the land but receives the sale proceeds, on the Land Department's timetable. Section 36 of the Foreign Business Act separately reaches nominee and foreign beneficiary alike: up to three years and/or THB 100,000 to 1,000,000, plus court-ordered cessation of the shareholding.

An orderly divestment from an at-risk structure runs eight to sixteen weeks, expected to reduce to under four as Better-than-Freehold™ grows. Koh Pha Ngan shows the other route, on a governor's timetable.

Officials on Samui said in August that foreign buyers were moving to 30-year leases.²³ A lease registered openly at the Land Office is lawful on its face; every tool described this year is aimed at concealment. And with law and accounting firms named repeatedly this year, gatekeeper liability belongs in any buyer's questions.

The Better-than-Freehold™ Solution #

Compliance comes first. Thailand Investor Network, a 100% Thai-owned property holding and management company, holds title and grants a registered 30-year lease, with no nominee anywhere.

Security follows. SPH Trustees Ltd, a Labuan FSA-regulated trust company, holds the registered lease and mortgage for the client, with the Option Agreement appended to the mortgage; Clear Blue Security Agents (CBSA) mediate and enforce.

The benefits complete the picture: ownership rights rather than the land itself, financing to 50% LTV (expected H1 2027) and succession without Thai probate.

FAQ Section #

Related Terms #

• Nominee Company Risks in Thailand - what the screening targets
• Foreign Business Act Thailand - the section 36 offence
• Anti-Money Laundering Act Thailand - the proposed predicate offence
• Gatekeeper Liability in Thailand - why advisers keep being named

Expert Guidance #

Immediate Action Required #

Inside a high-risk property-owning company, assume the register has already been read, and start the exit on your own timetable. Contact the Better-than-Freehold™ advisory team for a confidential compliance assessment.

Long-term Security Strategy #

Choose a structure with no Thai shareholder standing in for anyone.

Conclusion #

Nobody should read the absence of new legislation as a pause. Everything used against nominee structures this year rested on statutes already in force, with the new registrar orders tightening the paperwork.

References #

This article is provided for general information only and does not constitute legal, tax, or investment advice. Laws and enforcement practices change; obtain advice tailored to your situation before acting.