The Interior Ministry has stepped up its investigation into suspected nominee businesses in Phuket, with about 200 more companies set to be examined in the next phase.
Deputy Interior Minister Polapee Suwunchwee said on Monday that 159 companies believed to be using nominee shareholders have been referred to an investigation committee, with legal proceedings initiated against 39 firms and 34 ordered to cease operations.
He said authorities are reviewing more than 10,000 registered companies on the island, with more than 400 potentially subject to scrutiny for suspected nominee arrangements.
The next batch of around 200 companies will be submitted to the committee for examination, with a joint update expected with the Land Department on Thursday or Friday.
Mr Polapee said investigators would examine the nature of each business and determine whether Thai nationals were being used as nominee shareholders on behalf of foreign interests.
He and Deputy Interior Minister Worasit Liangprasit, who were tasked by Prime Minister and Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to oversee the operation, visited Phuket on Sunday.
According to Mr Polapee, the Land Department has been instructed to review land documents, including when they were issued and the basis on which they were granted.
The two ministers are scheduled to return to Phuket within two weeks to monitor progress.
Mr Polapee said the Land Department and the Commerce Ministry were working closely together, with business registration records being cross-checked against land ownership data.
He stressed that authorities would follow due process, examining both those found to have violated the law and officials who may have allowed such activities to occur.
Earlier this month, in a separate crackdown, police seized assets worth more than 1 billion baht and arrested 48 Thai and foreign suspects linked to alleged nominee networks operating in Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi. Investigators identified dozens of firms using Thai shareholders as nominees.
