The government unites to block grey capital and fraudsters opening corporate nominee accounts to deceive Thais, stressing that any cooperation or assistance will be met with strict legal action.
On 17 Jan 2026 GMT+7, Ms. Airin Panrit, Deputy Spokesperson of the Prime Minister's Office, stated that businesses evading or violating laws through nominee accounts and using corporate entities as fronts are increasing, negatively impacting the public, economic security, and the country's trade and investment image. The government prioritizes integrating cooperation across sectors to enhance management of emerging issues, especially the shift from individual nominee accounts to corporate nominee accounts to gain credibility for scams. Accountants and accounting firms are key to preventing this problem within Thailand's business system.
The government, through the Department of Business Development, Ministry of Commerce, collaborates with eight allied accounting agencies to block grey capital and fraudsters by refusing to register, prepare accounts, or support grey capital, aiming to break the cycle of "nominee nominee accounts." Currently, businesses that evade or violate laws via nominee accounts and corporate fronts are expanding, harming citizens, economic security, and the country’s trade and investment reputation.
Ms. Airin said that from examining corporate nominee accounts, the Department of Business Development, in cooperation with the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO), reviewed over 9,800 accounts and found about 1,500 at-risk individuals matching names in AMLO’s HR-03 database. These names have been forwarded to the Royal Thai Police, the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), and AMLO for further action.
Regarding protection of vulnerable groups, especially the approximately 13.4 million low-income people registered under the state welfare card, who might be scammed with payments of 1,000–2,000 baht in exchange for using their names to register corporate entities, checks found 200 names used fraudulently for such registrations. Those individuals were summoned by officials to explain and provide financial evidence, but most did not attend and ignored requests. The list will be sent to the Ministry of Finance to reconsider their cardholder status.
If accountants or accounting firms are found guilty of assisting in disguised corporate registrations for foreigners to create corporate nominee accounts without proper checks—or knowingly enabling fraud, such as one person registering many companies, sometimes hundreds, or using the same address for multiple companies—they will face existing legal penalties and be reported to the Federation of Accounting Professions under Royal Patronage for disciplinary action. The government warns Thai citizens not to cooperate as nominees for foreigners conducting business in Thailand in violation of the Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542 (1999). Violators will be strictly prosecuted under the law.