Government says scam and proxy-business crackdown is on track, with Phuket among southern targets

The Thai government says its crackdown on scammers and proxy businesses is producing results, with Phuket among the southern provinces where authorities are investigating suspected nominee company holdings.

Details were released at Government House on June 22 by Prime Minister and Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, according to the Bangkok Post report cited by the source. He said the suppression of scammers and proxy businesses was part of the government’s national agenda and that serious action began nine months ago.

Anutin said the campaign had produced “satisfactory outcomes,” with case numbers and damage declining. According to the Royal Thai Police Office, reported scam cases this month were down 69.2% from October last year, while scam-related damage fell by 87.3%.

Police had arrested 29,233 scammers and about 70 scam gang leaders, and impounded scam-related assets and cash worth about B24 billion in total, the report said.

In the south, police targeted proxy, or nominee, businesses in Krabi, Phangnga, Phuket and Surat Thani. Authorities suspected nominee holdings in 632 companies in Phuket, compared with 401 in Krabi and 174 in Phangnga. On Koh Phangan in Surat Thani, officials targeted 243 alleged proxy companies, with 105 already facing legal action and 14 resulting in court sentences.

Across the four southern provinces, about 130 rai was recovered from illegal foreign occupants. The land and buildings were estimated to be worth B1.67 billion.

For proxy-business offences, police obtained court arrest warrants for 29 Thais and 67 foreigners, and had apprehended 24 Thais and 41 foreigners. Those arrested included citizens of Israel, France, Russia, Poland, Switzerland, South Africa and Britain.

The government also said it had identified about 60 suspected scam locations in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. It accepted the return of 1,862 Thais used by scam gangs based outside Thailand, with 67.9% returned from Cambodia and 32.1% from Laos.

Meanwhile, 2,489 Thais were arrested for sneaking in and out of the country and were involved in 1,031 scam cases. Authorities also deported 2,647 foreigners who illegally entered Thailand after scam suppression in the KKPark and Minletpan areas of neighbouring Myanmar.

Officials said the government’s Anti Cyber Scam Centre had saved 862 people from scam gangs in real time. The centre also suspended more than 300,000 scammer phone numbers, helping cut monthly scam calls by 77.94%, and blocked 122,840 scam URLs, including 108,517 on Facebook.

Authorities closed 351,884 mule accounts and retrieved about B3.6 billion of victims’ money from them, equivalent to a quarter of reported damage. The number of mule accounts fell by 83.67% and transactions through them dropped by 81.39%, the report said.