DSI continues probe into Phuket MP’s company links and suspected foreign nominees

Thailand’s Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has not yet proposed taking up a special-case investigation into Phuket MP Somchat Techathaworncharoen’s business links, saying investigators need more time to examine financial records and other evidence.

The DSI’s Security Case Division said investigators questioned Somchat on 28 September after he appeared as a witness. He submitted documents concerning a legal-services company in which he is involved and acknowledged that he owns the office, which primarily provides legal consultancy.

According to the division, Somchat cooperated by providing information about the company’s accounts and the sources of capital used in its business. Investigators said the details would be assessed alongside statements from other witnesses and documentary evidence, and could not yet be disclosed.

The DSI is examining whether the conduct of individuals or companies involved could meet offences under Thailand’s Land Code or the Foreign Business Act 1999. Investigators will complete their review before deciding whether to recommend that the DSI director accept the matter as a special case.

The inquiry includes Somchat’s shareholdings and authority as a company signatory, as well as whether companies were registered to hold land or condominium units jointly with foreigners, or held shares in businesses with no genuine operations but focused on high-value property ownership. The financial trail is also being checked.

The division said the investigation was not limited to one person. It was compiling an overview of Phuket to determine whether legal offices had arranged company registrations for foreign nationals to conduct businesses unlawfully through nominee shareholders, including employees listed as shareholders on their behalf.

The DSI has previously examined activity in Phuket and found nearly 100 companies that it said could have breached the Foreign Business Act. The companies were reported to operate mainly in real estate, tourism and other services, with many holding property worth tens of millions of baht. Investigators also found cases in which company staff appeared as nominee shareholders for foreigners, according to the report.

Investigators are also reviewing changes to shareholder registers to determine whether they may have been used to transfer real estate without a corresponding transaction at the land office. The DSI said repeated changes involving the same property could have implications for taxes and transaction fees.