Thailand expands nominee ownership probe to 361 Phuket businesses after Chabad House clash

Thailand's Interior Ministry has widened inspections to more than 361 businesses across Phuket, after a confrontation at Chabad House in Patong in which an unidentified person reportedly questioned Thai officials' authority over the premises.

According to a report published on Saturday, 25 July 2026, the person approached officials during an inspection and asked, "Don't you know that this is Israeli territory?"

Deputy Interior Minister Polpee Suwanchawee rejected the remark immediately. "This is Thailand. Everyone on Thai soil must comply with Thai law. No one has the right to claim sovereignty over Thai territory," he said.

Polpee stressed that the government was not discriminating against any nationality, source of investment or religion. Foreign residents and business operators, he added, were subject to Thai law on an equal basis.

Widened inspection drive

The confrontation occurred as officials from the Interior Ministry, local administrative authorities, immigration police and tourist police inspected the centre in Patong subdistrict, Kathu district.

The operation focused on suspected use of Thai nationals as nominee shareholders on behalf of foreign investors, along with businesses operating without the required permission.

Following the incident, the ministry widened its inspection drive to cover more than 361 potentially high-risk businesses across Phuket. Hotels, luxury villas, restaurants and tour companies are among those targeted, alongside firms suspected of disguising foreign ownership through nominee structures.

Polpee pledged to prosecute offenders to the fullest extent of the law, saying the campaign was intended to protect fair business opportunities for Thai nationals and safeguard the country's economic sovereignty.

Background of local concern

The Patong confrontation follows several years of complaints from local business operators and social media users, who have said the area has increasingly become associated with an Israeli-run business network. Reports circulating locally have described a cluster of Israeli-owned restaurants, laundries, motorbike and car rental outlets, mini-marts and hotels concentrated around the Chabad House area, with many shopfronts signed in Hebrew.

Chabad House has undergone previous inspections

Chabad House in Patong has previously attracted scrutiny from security agencies, after local business operators and social media users raised concerns that the premises had become a gathering point that might be connected to business networks serving particular groups of Israeli nationals, according to the report.

Government agencies had inspected the premises and spoken with its operators on several occasions before the latest incident.

Authorities cited in the report said Chabad operated under the Chabad of Thailand Foundation, which ran about six or seven centres nationwide, including in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Koh Phangan in Surat Thani, Mae Hong Son and Phuket.

The centres provide venues for Jewish religious ceremonies and festivals, along with food and accommodation for Israeli visitors.

The Interior Ministry has maintained that the inspection campaign is not directed at religious activities, but is intended to ensure that businesses, buildings and other operations comply with Thai law.

Religious activities remain subject to Thai law

Although Thailand's constitution protects freedom of religious practice, Phuket administrative authorities and the Internal Security Operations Command Region 4 Forward Command had previously reminded the centre that its activities must remain within the law and must not disturb public order.

Authorities also warned that the premises must not be used as a front for illegal commercial activity, or to benefit foreign investors through nominee ownership arrangements.

The inspections form part of a broader nationwide crackdown on suspected nominee business structures, following similar operations in Chiang Mai and Koh Phangan earlier in July, where authorities uncovered networks of foreign-linked companies registered using Thai proxies.