Two resorts on the Pha-ngan Island, in the southern province of Surat Thani, have been found to be operating with a proper license, with one of them being a staff-less hotel which is remotely managed via an app linked directly to Israel.
The above findings were disclosed to the media during inspection visits to the two properties yesterday by Polapee Suwunchwee and Worasit Liangprasit, both deputy interior ministers, as part of the government’s campaign to crack down on foreign-run businesses using Thai nationals as their proxy shareholders.
The first resort to be inspected is located on a 4-hectare (25-rai) plot and was registered with six million baht capital and has 36 rooms. It was discovered that the property does not, however, have a proper license and its shareholding structure comprises people or entities of three foreign nationalities and a Thai national, who is suspected of being a nominee.
The second resort inspected is a hotel which is staff-less and is completely digitally operated, with online check-in, smart door locks and web-based payments directly to the operator in Israel.
The media was told by officials that hotel guests would be remotely informed where to pick up the room keys after their identity has been verified and with the payments made online. They claimed that Thailand earns nothing from this kind of investment, with no income tax being paid and no jobs created for Thais.
The team also checked some cannabis outlets on the island, which are thought to be foreign-run, with their Thai partners being just their nominees. One such was found to have branches in Phuket, Samui and Bangkok.
A specific outlet was found to have earned about 15 million baht in annual revenue, prompting suspicious that it may not be just a retail outlet, but a major distributor of cannabis. It is also alleged to have issued fake medical certificates, priced at about 300 baht each, to customers who bought a large amount of weed.
