Nong Nooch Tropical Gardens in Pattaya near Na Jomtien hosted a a meeting organised by the Department of Special Investigations (DSI) The meeting was held to discuss recent plans to crackdown on foreign business owners who manipulate the Thai Nominee Shareholders regulations to effectively control Thai companies and therefore are running their ventures in contravention of Thai laws.
Over 100 delegates were in attendance at the meeting including representatives from the DSI, The Ministry of Commerce, Tourism Authority of Thailand and representatives from the public and private sectors in Pattaya.
Foreign business operators have been exploiting the Thai Nominee Shareholding loophole for many years, despite it being illegal under the Foreign Business Act of 1999.
The DSI would like to see this loophole closed and investigations have begun into companies which use Thai Shareholders but are effectively controlled by Foreign Nationals. Covert operations have begun into tour companies, accommodation rental, restaurant, laundry and spa businesses.
Delegates at the meeting discussed how they can co-operate with the authorities in clamping down on these foreigners who are running their operations to the detriment of Thai business interest and Thai citizens who are losing out on the revenue going into foreign pockets.
