Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing the issue of nominee holdings yet again in  context of law enforcement. Let's just jump in here. I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Thai Enquirer, it is actually from a posting on X, that is @ThaiEnquirer on X, quoting directly: Authorities Investigates 112 Huai Khwang Restaurants Over Suspected Nominee Ownership. "The Department of Business Development (DBD) is investigating 112 restaurants in Bangkok's Huai Khwang district with foreign investors over suspected nominee ownership arrangements. The probe follows a June 19 inspection by the DBD, two House committees, the Huai Khwang District Office and the Immigration Bureau targeting nominee businesses and illegal foreign workers. Under Thai Law, foreigners cannot operate restaurants through foreign-majority companies without special permission. Authorities are examining whether some businesses used Thai shareholders to conceal actual foreign ownership." Quoting further: "The DBD said it has submitted information on 53 companies to the Anti-Money Laundering Office to trace financial transactions. The information has also been forwarded to police and tax authorities for further investigation. The Department has requested similar data from all Bank of district offices and plans to expand its review to other areas of the capital."

So again, I have discussed this at length in other videos. Law Enforcement is being proactive on this, and on top of that, Department of Business Development with this increased digitization, usage of AI tools, DBD is now becoming more proactive and working hand in glove with law enforcement to ascertain whether certain business operations are set up in accordance with Thai Law. Where they're not, the presumption is they are going to be seized, and you could see people detained and even possibly deported or even face criminal penalties before any of that occurs if it's determined that a nominee arrangement has been ongoing. 

As I have discussed in other videos, nominee arrangements are affirmatively illegal in Thailand. Now the definition of a nominee, that can be somewhat nuanced. Again someone that is actively involved with the company and is actively involved with the day-to-day of a corporation - be it through sweat equity, be it through management, whatever - yes that person may be a genuine shareholder. But if there is a nominee structure in place, Thai law is clear, and we could see more folks and more businesses finding themselves in legal issues here in the Kingdom of Thailand.