Minister of Justice and Director-General of DSI Announce the arrest of China Railway No.10 Executive on Nominee Business Charges

Minister of Justice and Director-General of DSI Announce the arrest of China Railway No.10 Executive on Nominee Business Charges

On Saturday, April 19, 2025, at approximately 7:20 PM, Police Colonel Tawee Sodsong, Minister of Justice, together with Police Major Yutthana Praedam, Director General of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), Police Captain Surawoot Rungsai, Deputy Director-General of the DSI, Police Major Woranan Srilam, Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection Crime, and Police Major General Panop Vorathanatchakul, Commander of the Investigation Division, Immigration Bureau, held a press conference to announce the arrest of Mr. ZHANG (surname withheld), a Chinese national and  director of China Railway Number 10 Co., Ltd. The arrest was carried out by officers from the Surveillance and Intelligence Division of the DSI, under the supervision of Mr. Withawat Sukantharos, Head of the Surveillance and Intelligence Center, and led by Mr. Wuttikrai Sritawat Na Ayutthaya, Head of the Surveillance and Intelligence Division, in coordination with officers from the Immigration Bureau.

Mr. ZHANG (surname withheld), a Chinese national, was arrested both in his personal capacity and as a representative of a juristic person under Criminal Court Arrest Warrant No. 2389/2568, issued on April 18, 2025, in connection with Special Case No. 32/2568. He was charged with operating a business which either is strictly prohibited to foreigners or requires prior permission and with being a juristic person who connives at the commission of such unlawful conduct. The arrest took place at his residence in the Huai Khwang district of Bangkok.

Police Colonel Tawee Sodsong disclosed that the legal proceedings regarding the collapse of the State Audit Office (SAO) building are being handled by two agencies: the DSI and the Royal Thai Police. Both agencies are cooperating and integrating their efforts in handling the case. The Director-General of the DSI assigned Police Captain Surawoot Rungsai, Deputy Director-General, to request arrest warrants for four suspects from the court. Three are Thai nationals, while the other is the arrested Chinese national and juristic person, China Railway No. 10 Co., Ltd., for violating the Foreign Business Act, B.E. 2542 (1999) in a nominee structure case.

The investigation found credible evidence that the company used three Thai individuals who are currently being tracked down, to hold shares on behalf of foreigners. This is based on financial evidence exceeding 2 billion baht in loans from the Chinese director of the company, which enabled the company to enter into a contract with the SAO in the form of a joint venture.

The DSI is also conducting two further inquiries: First, it involves determining whether the bidding process constitutes bid rigging, which requires careful investigation. If foreign nationals were disguised through nominees while entering into contracts with the SAO, this may constitute an offense under Section 7 of the Act on The Offenses Relating to the Submission of Bids to Government Agencies, as it may involve deceit or other methods used to win the bid. The nominee arrangement will need to be thoroughly examined to see if it falls under this provision.

Second, there are contract amendments that occurred nine times, and evidence is being requested from relevant agencies, including the final construction contract. The construction matter that occurred, even though it wasn’t directly related to the construction itself, was one of the reasons for entering into the contract.

Meanwhile, the police are handling the criminal case involving injuries, deaths, and missing persons. This is currently being pursued as a case of negligence causing death, but further investigation will require a large amount of data. Some evidence may be used across multiple aspects of the case, such as site supervision and design specifications. They may also investigate deeper to determine if there was intent, which would be a separate matter. It must be noted that Mr. ZHANG remains an accused person, and China Railway No. 10 Co., Ltd. Is a reputable company. They will be given the opportunity to present evidence to the authorities to clarify why the SAO building collapsed and resulted in such a tragic loss of life. The authorities remain open to hearing their explanation and will proceed fairly and transparently.

Police Major Yutthana Praedam, Director-General of DSI, stated that Mr. ZHANG has arrived, and will be questioned by the special case inquiry officers. This process must await a language interpreter and a lawyer in accordance with the rights of the accused. The DSI’s investigation currently involves three main issues: The Foreign Business Act, B.E. 2542 (Nominee case), The Act on Offenses Relating to the Submission of Bids to State Agencies, B.E. 2542 (Bid rigging), and The Industrial Product Standards Act.

Two of these issues may not have been direct causes of the building collapse, but they could have contributed indirectly or represented underlying legal violations that led to the incident. The direct cause is still under investigation, with evidence being gathered to determine whether materials such as steel and cement complied with industrial standards under the relevant law. As for the nominee issue, although not a direct cause, it enabled the company to participate in the bidding process and is thus considered an indirect contributing factor. The investigation into bid rigging is still ongoing. Regarding the three Thai nominee shareholders, who jointly held 51% of the company’s shares, it has been proven that they were not the actual shareholders but were concealing foreign ownership. He confirmed that these three are currently being tracked down and are still be in Thailand.