British and American suspects among 31 sent to prosecutors in Thailand property nominee crackdown

British and American nationals were among 31 suspects sent to prosecutors in a property nominee crackdown in Thailand.

British suspect Marcus and American man Paul were accused of using Thai nominees to illegally own land in the country.

They were said to have set up shell companies to conceal foreign ownership and bypass Thailand's business and real estate laws.

Both men, and 29 others, were detained as authorities try to stamp out illegal foreign businesses on the popular holiday islands of Phuket and Koh Samui.

In a statement on Monday, the Department of Special Investigation said officers have interrogated suspects linked to suspected nominee company Firefly (Thailand) Co Ltd before forwarding the case file to prosecutors.

Authorities also transferred two suspects, identified only as Simon and Vandy, to public prosecutors for further legal proceedings.

Officials claimed Marcus and Paul jointly established nominee companies to circumvent the law.

The suspects will face charges of 'jointly operating a business without permission as foreigners, jointly consenting to the use of Thai nominees to evade the Foreign Business Act, and acting as company directors who connived in offences committed by juristic entities'.