A nominee to a criminal is still a criminalA Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) officer talks to a man during a raid at a coconut-processing company in Ratchaburi province on Saturday. (Photo: Royal Thai Police)Operators originating from China artificially suppressing coconut prices for Thai farmers have put the spotlight back on Thailand’s complicated relationship with Chinese entrepreneurs in recent weeks. These are all reasonable concerns, especially since many of these cases involve so-called “grey money” tied to explicitly criminal activities. What was being dealt with by the raids was the fact that the “practice excluded Thai farmers from normal trade systems and caused coconut prices at plantations nationwide to plunge”. Despite the nationwide interest in the case and the many implications of criminal activity, little seems to have happened as far as the three Thais are concerned.

Source: Bangkok Post March 12, 2026 08:06 UTC