Phuket MP alleges B1mn Thai ID scheme linked to Chinese nominee network
Phuket MP Chalermpong has urged an urgent Interior Ministry investigation after alleging that a Chinese national linked to five Phuket companies charged up to B1 million to help Chinese nationals obtain Thai identification cards or change citizenship status.
People’s Party MP Chalermpong has called for an urgent investigation into what he described as possible corruption in the issuance of Thai identification documents and citizenship after alleging that a Chinese national charged up to B1 million per identification card.
Speaking at Parliament on July 15, Chalermpong, the MP for Phuket Constituency 2, said the case emerged during an investigation into alleged Chinese nominee businesses operating in Phuket. He alleged that the individual obtained Thai citizenship under suspicious circumstances, holds shares in five Phuket companies and acts as an intermediary for foreign investors.
According to Chalermpong, the individual arranges brokerage and real estate transactions and helps Chinese nationals obtain Thai identification cards or change their citizenship status. He said the alleged service cost up to B1 million per card.
Complaints have been filed with the Phuket Provincial Commerce Office asking whether the individual’s business activities constitute illegal nominee arrangements. A separate complaint was submitted to the Phuket Provincial Damrongtham Centre, the Provincial Ombudsman’s Office, seeking an investigation into the legality of the person’s Thai identification card and civil registration records.
Chalermpong said the person had previously held registration documents in northern Thailand before transferring household registration to Phuket. He urged the Interior Ministry to expedite the investigation and establish the facts, citing concerns about corruption, illegal identification-card issuance and the effect on employment opportunities for Thai people in Phuket.
He made the allegations at a press conference with fellow People’s Party MPs Piyarat Jongthep and Romdon Panjor, who announced further findings from their investigation into an alleged illicit Chinese investment network. The MPs claimed the wider network had caused economic damage exceeding B70 billion and said financial investigations had traced money to the families of key suspects.
The press conference also raised a separate case in Bangkok involving a child born to a Chinese mother at a private hospital in the Rama 9 area. The MPs alleged that a 22-year-old Thai man was registered as the father, although police later found that he had an extensive criminal record and was a fugitive.
They said hospital staff handled the birth registration directly with district officials, raising suspicions of a paid service intended to facilitate Thai citizenship. The MPs called for formal investigations into officials and agencies involved in birth registration and citizenship approvals, a suspension of Thai passport issuance in cases under investigation, and clarification of how children would be treated if citizenship obtained through fraudulent means were later revoked.
