Chinese and Thai employees were arrested for allegedly running nominee-fronted companies to build a luxury apartment complex in Thailand.

The eleven suspects dodged the country's company ownership laws by hiring dummy Thai shareholders allegedly controlled by Chinese investors.

The sham companies were said to have bought 30 acres of land across Chonburi and Rayong to build 10 eight-storey condos exclusive to Chinese tenants. The under-construction project was valued at more than two billion baht, with 1,821 units available.

The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) said authorities have arrested the alleged fraudsters amid a crackdown on nominee companies dubbed 'CIB Nominee Sweep Ep.3'. The suspects were identified by officials as Chinese nationals Lifang, Tao, Jiang, Xia, Wang, Hao, and Song, and Thai nationals Worati, Prasit, Chairit, and Punnat.

Police Major General Tassanapoom Jaruprak, commander of the Economic Crime Suppression Division, said: 'This operation follows previous crackdowns on foreign businesses in Phuket and Bangkok, where we discovered the use of nominees or Thai citizens acting as fronts for ownership.

'This is the third phase of the operation, where we investigated four legal entities suspected of hiding actual Chinese investors.'

Officials said the companies had a 'complex share structure' in which low-level Thai employees were listed as shareholders or directors despite not holding management roles.

They seized various documents, including seven title deeds for the 30 acres of land, 38 Thai and Chinese bank account books worth 72 million baht, two laptops, three mobile phones, a land purchase agreement, and seven bank security tokens.

Police said the suspects face charges for violating Thailand's Foreign Business Act of 1999, and hiring illegal foreign workers.

Under Thailand's Foreign Business Act of 1999, foreigners may establish joint ventures with Thai partners but are restricted to a maximum ownership of 49 per cent. However, some business owners bypass these regulations by hiring Thai nominees.