The operation, carried out yesterday (Apr 23) targeted a firm in Sai Thai subdistrict, Mueang Krabi, following intelligence that it had been registering companies using Thai nationals as nominees to conceal foreign ownership and business activities in Krabi, Phuket and Surat Thani.
Officers from Krabi Provincial Police, Immigration, the Provincial Commerce Office, Employment Office and Revenue Department took part in the raid, which forms part of a wider investigation into illegal foreign business operations in the region.
Authorities said the firm had used the same address to register multiple companies and was part of a large, interconnected network. Documents seized at the scene showed the establishment of more than 500 companies across the three provinces, along with evidence suggesting the firm had assisted foreigners to work and reside in Thailand unlawfully.
Investigators also discovered a so-called “ghost office” on the second floor of the premises. The space had been staged to appear operational, complete with non-functioning computers and more than 100 company name signs, in an apparent attempt to mislead inspectors.
Officials are now working to locate the owner of the accounting firm and expand the investigation to trace financial transactions and identify others involved in the network. Legal action is being considered for offences related to foreign business operations, the use of Thai nominees, as well as labour and tax violations.
The probe also led to a separate arrest in Bangkok on the same day. Immigration Bureau Division 3 officers detained a 30-year-old Israeli woman believed to be connected to the network.
According to investigators, the woman had registered a company under the guise of offering makeup and nail services, but was in fact using the business as a front to produce and distribute explicit content online via the platform OnlyFans.
Meanwhile, police coordinated with officers at Mae Sot to arrest two Thai nationals accused of acting as nominees by holding shares on behalf of foreign operators involved in the scheme.
Authorities confirmed that the investigation remains ongoing, with efforts focused on dismantling the wider network, tracking financial flows and pursuing further arrests.