Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are asking the question, what is a nominee in Thailand? I thought of making this video after reading two comments on a video we made recently where we were talking about crackdowns on some of this stuff. Quoting directly, one person asked, "what is a nominee?" Somebody answered: "Basically a Thai National who will serve as a liaison between a foreigner and the Thai Government." That's not what it is. Quoting further: "It's supposed to be someone the Thai Government can hold more liable." - no, that's not what it is. Quoting further: "I guess, I don't know." Well that's why I'm making this video. “Basically a way they can skirt their own rules to make money when they want, but also so they can undo everything you "bought" and keep the money”. 

No it's just there is a law on this; it's under the Foreign Business Act. Nominees are specifically illegal. And when we are talking about nominees, we are talking about somebody who is truly on a piece of corporate documentation purely for the purposes of meeting the requirements generally of the 49/51 rules that are stipulated under the Foreign Business Act for certain types of corporate endeavours; that's what it amounts to. It is somebody that is just on the Corporate Registry as a shareholder generally, and they really have nothing to otherwise do with the company. That's basically the definition of a nominee. And yeah, there are criminal penalties associated with it; it is defined under law here. The fact that it has not been heavily enforced in the past doesn't change the fact that it's still there. Meanwhile there is some - you have to understand - there's a difference between folks that are involved in a Thai corporation and may be on the shareholders list and things that are actively involved in the company versus someone who is purely just on there to have a Thai name on there to meet the formal requirements the formalities if you will of that incorporation. That's purely what they are, they are a front for lack of a better term. 

Again, it has nothing to do with liaising with the Government, and it has nothing to do with someone that Government can hold more liable. Actually, if deemed to be a true nominee in Thailand, there could be criminal penalties applied by the Government. This is not policy the government has set up in order to rein in the foreigners or something. No, the policy is there to protect the Thai labour market and the Thai economy from undue foreign influence is effectively what it's there for. It's again not there so somebody acts as a liaison or something; in fact the practice is specifically illegal under the Foreign Business Act. 

So that's the thing to understand about this. And again there is a difference between somebody who is purely on a shareholder list just to meet formal requirements, and somebody who is actively involved in the administration and the running of the corporation here in the Kingdom of Thailand.