An allegation that the resort, located near Khao Yai National Park in Pak Chong district, acquired land illegally has drawn a swift response from deputy permanent secretary for justice Dussadee Arayawuth.
Mr Dussadee ordered the Centre for National Anti-Corruption to conduct the investigation, which will include looking into whether officials were complicit in the wrongdoing.
"Some plots of land owned by Kirimaya may have a problem, especially those involving requests for land officials to issue land title deeds this year," said a source on the Justice Ministry's investigation team, referring to an initial finding.
Investigators who traced back Kirimaya's land acquisition suspect that land use permission documents, which are required as evidence to ask for deeds, were wrongfully issued, the source said.
The areas in question were originally part of self-help settlement land, overseen by the Cooperative Promotion Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives which distributed land to villagers.
The problem occurred when land was given to villagers in an area owned by the Agricultural Land Reform Office (Alro), which allocates land to landless farmers.
Issuing documents in this way has caused investigators to look at possible violations of the Encroachment Act, the source said.
Villagers claimed there had been many attempts to ask for land title deeds in this area, but "some officials opposed it for fear of committing crimes", the source said.
"Later these officials were transferred out of the area," the source said.
A Kirimaya staff member refused to comment yesterday (April 16) on whether authorities have begun investigating the resort in the last few days.
Kirimaya executives in Bangkok could not be reached at press time.
Allegations of an illegal land grab at Kirimaya Golf Resort and Spa emerged recently after Rak Prathet Thai Party leader Chuvit Kamolvisit alleged there were irregularities on his Facebook page called Chuvit I'm No.5 on April 11.
Mr Chuvit urged authorities to take action against the resort the same way it did with Bonanza Golf and Country Club Co, which is also facing land encroachment allegations in Pak Chong district.
According to Mr Chuvit's Facebook page, Kirimaya Golf Resort and Spa, which was accused of being built on parts of Khao Yai National Park or a forest reserve, reportedly belongs to "one of the co-leaders of the PDRC [People's Democratic Reform Committee]," which staged mass protests against the Yingluck Shinawatra administration last year.
Nakhon Ratchasima governor Thongchai Lueadun and Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission secretary-general Prayong Priyajit insisted authorities will stick to the law when dealing with all alleged encroachment cases.
"No matter what allegations arise, officials will work without double standards or discrimination," Mr Prayong said.
In the Bonanza case, Alro and the Royal Forestry Department are each preparing to sue the company after claiming its resort and racetrack were allegedly built on 103 rai of land in Khao Sied-Ar, Khao Nok Yoong and Khao Ang-Hin national forest reserves, said Nakhon Ratchasima Alro official Chamnan Klinchan.
Alro secretary-general Sansern Ajjutamanas said that 79 rai of the alleged encroached area is overseen by Alro.
Bonanza owner Phaiwong Techanarong will face legal action because he has failed to show Nor Sor 3 Kor documents, which certify land use in the area, Mr Sansern said.
His office expects to gather all evidence before the middle of next month and then ask prosecutors to file criminal and civil lawsuits against the company, which needs to pay compensation for any damage it caused to the land, primarily reserved for agricultural purposes, Mr Sansern said.
Meanwhile, the Treasury Department is keeping its land leaseholders on Koh Tao in Surat Thani in line after finding many of them are wrongfully using the land.
Some do not make use of land as stated in lease contracts while others are suspected of encroaching on watershed areas, which should be reserved for conservation purposes, according to findings recently forwarded to department chief Chakkirt Pharaphanthakun.
The whole island is considered state property overseen by his department, so people can only use the land through leasing.
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