The Department of Business Development (DBD) is preparing to check the profiles of Thai nominees at 400 to 500 foreign-run businesses to see if they violate any laws.
Most of the businesses are in the tourism and property sectors and had Thai nominees as their shareholders, said Chitrakorn Wongkhetkorn, the department’s deputy director-general.
The department will question representatives of the businesses that are suspected of illegally using Thai proxies. If they cannot provide satisfactory answers, the Department of Special Investigation will be asked to look into their financial affairs, Mr Chitrakorn said.
The use of Thai nominees to hold shares in businesses closed to foreigners has come into focus as a result of investigations into widespread illegal activity by Chinese gangsters in the country.
Since 2015 the DBD has taken legal action against foreign business operators who had illegally used Thai proxies in 66 cases, Mr Chitrakorn said.
The latest move by the department follows a complaint from a food vendor in the Yaowarat area of Bangkok that Chinese nationals who held tourist visas were using Thai nominees to run shops and eateries in the area, hurting the businesses of local operators.
Mr Chitrakorn said foreigners must obtain permission from the Commerce Ministry before selling foods and beverages in the country.
Foreign citizens holding tourist visas are not allowed to work in Thailand. Foreigners in the country on longer-term or work visas are also barred by law from certain occupations, such as tour guides and street food vendors.
Recent investigations have indicated that hundreds of Chinese nationals, including some criminals, had received help changing tourist visas to student visas, allowing them to stay in the country for an extended time.
Authorities said last week they had found clear evidence of Immigration Bureau officers helping foreign criminals, and even serving as owners of foundations that arranged visas for Chinese nationals.