The Department of Special Investigation is hunting a Chinese man who illegally obtained Thai identification documents which he used to set up businesses with registered capital of more than 3.6 billion baht.
DSI director-general Korawat Panprapakorn said on Tuesday that investigators had a court warrant for the arrest of the man, who had used the Thai identity Apao Sae Soen.
It was part of a larger investigation. As many as 255 foreign nationals had illegally been issued Thai national identification cards in Wiang Kaen district of Chiang Rai province. One of them was Apao Sae Soen.
Apao Sae Soen is alleged to have illegally set up companies to operate businesses restricted to Thai citizens.
Pol Col Korawat said the DSI had accepted special case No 54/2021 for investigation because it involved national security.
He said Apao Sae Soen's real name is Wen Haomiao, a Chinese national with Chinese passport number G23810848.
In China, Wen Haomiao was declared bankrupt and had his assets seized after his business collapsed.
He left China for Thailand, where he managed to illegally obtain a Thai ID card under the name of Apao Sae Soen, as recorded in a domicile registration paper in Chiang Rai's Wiang Kaen district.
With the false Thai identity and home registration documents, he set up companies operating businesses which foreigners are not allowed to run.
The documents also enabled him to stay in Thailand and travel in and out of the kingdom.
On Feb 18, the DSI obtained a court warrant for the arrest of Wen Haomiao on charges of illegally obtaining and using a Thai identfication card and domicile registration and, as a foreigner, running businesses in Thailand without needed permission.
Wen Haomiao is a fugitive, his whereabouts unknown.
The investigation was expanded to include the Provincial Administration Department and other agencies in Wiang Kaen district.
Officials had revoked 50 other ID cards illegally issued to foreigners. Seven of them were listed as owners of businesses which were prohibited to foreigners, Pol Col Korawat said.
Apao Sae Soen was stripped off Thai nationality on June 15, 2020, a DSI source said. He had set up four companies with a combined registered capital of 3,611 million baht.
The four companies were: 10 Plus 1 Group, a company dealing in rice trading; Amarin GTI Ltd, a real estate company; De Yi Network Technology Ltd, a non-residential building construction firm; and, Tai Xi Development Group, a property leasing firm.