Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing a significant crackdown here in Thailand with regard to so-called nominee businesses specifically with regard to "Property Projects." What am I talking about here? Well, I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from Bangkok Post,  bangkokpost.com, the article is titled: Business nominees in Phuket face jail terms, fines. Quoting directly: "The Criminal Court laid down two-year jail terms and opposed 200,000-baht fines on 23 Thais in the companies for which they were acting as business nominees for foreigners in Phuket." Quoting further: "The investigation focused on tourism and related business activities including eateries, hotels, property projects and logistics." 

Now again, I think this is worth pointing out. We have discussed this in many other videos, look as discussed previously, foreign nationals do not have rights to own property here in Thailand specifically with regard to land. As we have discussed in many other videos, it is possible for a foreign national to own a condo here in Thailand, and gain what we would call Freehold Title or Fee Simple Absolute Title, in the Thai vernacular, that would be called Chanote Title. That said, as we have discussed, again it is not possible for foreigners to own land directly. Many try to circumvent these rules with regard to setting up things like corporations etc., in order to basically try to work around the actual law and in point of fact as we have discussed in other videos, any of these sort of vehicles being used for circumvention or being used as sort of a pretext or a pretense is a really tricky thing to begin with. As I have discussed in other videos, there are narrow circumstances where perhaps some sort of corporate setup may be warranted depending on the underlying circumstances in a given case, but in the vast majority of circumstances where it's simply being used as a pretext or subterfuge in order to bypass the relevant laws it can be a real problem. And I'm betting that moving forward, Authorities here in Thailand are going to increasingly be looking at this as a Law enforcement issue that needs to be pressed and one that specifically pertains to property. 

Bear in mind, many people will sort of "Yes" you to death if you will in Thailand with regard to whether or not you can do this, but the thing to keep in the back of your own mind is regardless of how good it sounds with whatever setup it is that you're trying to set up with regard to gaining some sort of usage of property that might be akin or look a lot like ownership, just bear in mind yeah it maybe a significantly small risk in your mind but how small of a risk is it to lose at least the investment in a major property? Is that that small of a risk? My opinion is it's oftentimes not worth it; it is better than just stay within the boundaries of the clear law and maintain compliance with relevant Thai law regarding foreign ownership of real estate. 

That being said, there are some that like to live dangerously. My opinion is I just don't think that's worth the risk and it's clear there are those in the Government here in Thailand who are keen on enforcing Thai Law with respect to restrictions on foreign ownership of property here in the Kingdom of Thailand.