On 24 June 2025, the Thai Cabinet acknowledged the Ombudsman’s report on nominee landholding by foreigners and assigned the Ministry of Commerce to coordinate with 13 agencies and report back within 30 days.
🔍 Key Issues Identified by the Ombudsman
– Foreigners acquiring land through Thai spouses, proxy shareholders, and nominee companies
– Outdated or vague provisions in the Foreign Business Act and Land Code
– Lack of centralized enforcement mechanisms across government agencies
– Ongoing violations in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Trat, Chanthaburi, and other provinces
⚖️ Proposed Measures and Legal Reforms
🔸 Immediate Actions:
– Assign the Department of Business Development (DBD) to lead risk screening of suspicious companies
– Enforce Department of Lands Circular No. มท 0515.2/ว6346 (30 March 2023) to detect nominee land ownership
– Deploy AI-powered tools for nominee detection
– Establish a temporary inter-agency task force on nominee structures
– Strengthen enforcement by police, DSI, AMLO
– Instruct the Ministry of Interior to form provincial-level working groups
– Direct the Ministry of Agriculture to monitor farmland nominee use
– Expand “Operation Pithak Samui” by coordinating DSI, DOL, DBD, AMLO, and local authorities to suppress nominee landholding in key provinces.
– Instruct the Lawyers Council of Thailand to prohibit legal professionals from facilitating nominee transactions
🔸 Proposed Amendments to the Foreign Business Act:
– Redefine “foreigner” to include those exercising control through Thai representatives
– Introduce statutory definitions of “nominee” and “nominee transaction”
– Treat Thai companies with preference shares that give foreigners control as foreign entities
– Require proof of paid-up capital upon company registration
– Increase penalties and introduce rebuttable presumptions in nominee cases
– Classify nominee use as a predicate offense under AML laws, allowing asset seizure
– Empower the DBD with broader investigative and enforcement powers
🔸 Proposed Amendments to the Land Code:
– Increase fines and imprisonment for unlawful landholding by foreigners
– Prohibit compensation when land is confiscated due to nominee arrangements
🔸 Proposed Standalone Law on Nominee Transactions:
– Enact a new Nominee Transactions Act
– Establish national and provincial-level committees for oversight
– Create an independent authority with power to investigate and annul nominee transactions retroactively
– Define criminal liability, introduce tiered penalties, and punish obstruction of investigations
📌 These are recommendations only at this stage, but if adopted, they could lead to the most significant tightening of Thailand’s foreign landholding rules in decades.
🔗 Source: Thai Cabinet Meeting Summary, 24 June 2025
https://lnkd.in/gDKF22wg
#ThailandLandOwnership #ThailandRealEstate #NomineeStructures
Thailand Moves to Review Nominee Land Ownership Loopholes
