Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has ordered provincial governors to look into land plots suspected of being illegally owned by foreigners by the end of December, with a plan to then revoke the title deeds.

Mr Anutin announced the order on Monday as he launched the government’s campaign to crack down on illegal land ownership by foreigners.

He said provincial governors and land officials had until the end of December to identify foreigners suspected of owning land illegally through nominees in Thailand. 

“Those behind this are mostly ‘somebody’. They are not ordinary people but influential ones. However, no influence is greater than that of the government,” Mr Anutin said.

The prime minister said that once suspicious land plots had been identified, officials would look beyond the names on the title deeds to establish who the actual owners or beneficiaries were.

Further measures could include revoking the foreigners’ rights to remain in Thailand. 

Legal action could also include forcing the sale of the land to prevent ownership from being transferred from one nominee to another, he said.

The Department of Lands said an initial investigation had identified suspicious land ownership involving 13,088 parties. Of these, 1,550 were companies allegedly involving illegal foreign shareholding, while 11,538 were suspected of holding land on behalf of foreigners.