DSI Raids Three Pattaya Sites in Nominee Company Crackdown
DSI raided three Pattaya locations investigating a company accused of using Thai nationals as nominees to illegally hold land and operate businesses for a foreign owner, part of a broader crackdown on violations of Thailand's Foreign Busine
On August 21, 2025, Justice Minister Rutthapol Naorat and Interior Ministry Deputy Minister Vorasiṭ Liangprasiṭ led coordinated operations involving the Department of Special Investigation, a special Interior Ministry operations unit, and the National Police Office to search networks suspected of using nominees to hold land and operate businesses for foreigners in Pattaya and Bang Lamung District, Chon Buri Province. The raids were executed under court-issued search warrants for violations of the Foreign Business Operation Act of 1999. Deputy DSI Commissioner Visṇu Chimtrakul, Chon Buri Governor Narit Niramaiyawong, and senior officials from multiple agencies participated in the operation as part of the government's policy to suppress illegal business activities and investigate the use of Thai nationals as nominee representatives for land ownership and business operations in the Pattaya and Bang Lamung areas. The operation marks a continuation of similar investigations previously conducted in Koh Phangan, Koh Samui in Surat Thani Province, and Phuket Province.
Investigators identified Cozy Beach View Company Limited as violating the Foreign Business Operation Act. Authorities obtained a court search warrant to inspect three target locations. The first site was an international law office in Pattaya suspected of registering the company using Thai employees as shareholders on behalf of the foreign owner. The second was a hotel that hired the law office to file the company registration, with evidence showing Thai law office staff served as company founders and complex changes to shareholder names linked to other businesses. The third site was Cozy Beach View Company Limited itself in Nong Prue Subdistrict, Bang Lamung, which operates with an Israeli national as company director and uses Thai nationals as nominee shareholders since 2010, with evidence of significant director and shareholder links to other companies with combined assets exceeding hundreds of millions of baht. Deputy Minister Vorasiṭ stated the searches were conducted strictly in accordance with court warrants.
