An Israeli was arrested in Thailand on suspicion of involvement in a land trade case

An Israeli was arrested at the airport on the island of Samui in Thailand, on suspicion of being involved in the case of “straw men” for the purchase of land on the island of Ko Pha Ngan. According to the country’s authorities, he used Thai citizens as fictitious shareholders to circumvent local law that restricts foreign ownership of land.

The arrest was made on Tuesday after the 30-year-old suspect re-landed in Thailand. Already on May 21, an arrest warrant was issued against him by the Samui District Court.

According to the police, the suspect was a shareholder in his company, which was registered through an accounting firm that allegedly provided Thai citizens to act as “straw men”. Through the company, land was registered in Copenhagen, on which he allegedly planned to build a private holiday home in the future.

In the initial investigation, he admitted that he was the person listed in the arrest warrant. He was then reported to have left Thailand before being searched as part of the investigation.

The arrest is part of a wider operation by the Thai authorities against similar networks on the island of Ko Pha Ngan. In mid-May, 45 arrest warrants were issued as part of the operation, and so far 27 suspects have been arrested. The local police stated that the investigation will also continue against the accounting firm involved and against Thai citizens who agreed to act as fictitious shareholders.