Thailand’s nationwide crackdown on illegal foreign land nominees produced new, specific numbers this week, beyond the roughly $417 million land-value figure already reported earlier this month. The Department of Business Development (DBD) reported that authorities approved or certified 971 foreign businesses in the first nine months of 2026 — 228 foreign business licenses and 743 business certificates under the Foreign Business Act of 1999 — up 26% year on year, DBD Director-General Kittiwat Patchimnan said, as cited by Thai PBS. The associated investment reached 271.18 billion baht, up 7% from a year earlier, with China (183 approvals, 46.03 billion baht), the United States (160), and Singapore and Japan (131 each) the leading sources; Singapore led by investment value at 74.45 billion baht.
The figures came three days after Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul launched a nationwide “LAND ACTION” initiative on October 19, ordering officials to accelerate investigations into suspected illegal foreign land ownership. Government figures tied to that order identify 1,397 corporate entities and 2,360 land plots — worth roughly 14.01 billion baht across about 5,467 rai — under investigation nationwide, with priority cases due to be concluded by December 2026.
Two days after that order, Chonburi police carried out a separate operation in Pattaya on October 21, raiding 12 properties (11 homes and 16 land plots, about 50 rai) worth a combined 800 million baht, led by Chonburi provincial police chief Maj. Gen. Chatree Suksiri. Investigators identified 85 Thai and foreign nationals across nine nationalities — 54 Thai, 14 Chinese, 7 Indian, 3 Israeli, 2 Russian, 2 Filipino, and one each British, French and Belgian — examining whether registered Thai shareholders were genuine investors or nominees for foreign buyers. At one raided mansion, registered to Pattaya Vision Co., Ltd. and reportedly owned entirely by Chinese shareholders, police found three Chinese nationals who had arrived in Thailand four days earlier, along with roughly 100 computer sets, and bank records showing about 200,000 baht in monthly transactions the account holder described as rental income. Under Sections 94 and 96 of Thailand’s Land Code, the Department of Lands can order compulsory disposal of unlawfully held land within 180 days to one year.
Despite the intensifying enforcement, PM Anutin has stressed that Thailand remains open to legitimate foreign investment conducted under existing Thai law — a distinction underscored by the DBD’s own figures showing a 26% year-on-year rise in approved foreign business activity over the same period.
References
Thaiger – Thailand welcomes 971 foreign firms amid nominee crackdown / Thai Examiner – 12 properties raided, 85 people charged after Pattaya police raids linked to the illegal foreign ownership crackdown
