BANGKOK (AP) — Thai police have broken up a major network that illegally helped foreigners, mostly Russians, stay in Thailand long-term by using nominated companies or shell companies, officials said Friday.
Police said a 45-year-old Russian woman who came to Thailand in 2012 carried out the plan along with a Thai woman listed as an executive or shareholder of more than 270 companies in the southern province of Phuket.
Foreigners can run a business in Thailand, but it must be a joint venture with a Thai partner, except in certain cases, and they cannot own more than 49% to protect local competitiveness.
The defendants offered a service where foreigners could be listed as shareholders in a company with a Thai partner or employed by a shell company owned by Thais to obtain a work permit, said Puttidej Bunkrapue, commander of the Police. Division.
A total of 98 foreigners, including 68 Russians, have been charged with operating unlicensed businesses, which carries a maximum prison sentence of three years and a fine of one million baht ($27,000), police said. In addition, 37 Thais were charged with crimes related to the network.
Officials said the network has likely been in use since 2016, but the number of customers has increased sharply since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
At least fifty foreigners were officially charged on Friday, said lead investigator Krit Woratat.
Phuket is a major tourist destination and is especially popular among Russians. Police said more than 90,000 Russians arrived in the province between 2019 and early 2024.
They said there has also been a sharp increase in the number of company registrations by Russians in Phuket. From 2023 to early 2024, more than 1,600 companies were registered under Russian names, compared to around 30 companies per year in 2016-2022, they say.
