Russian tourists topped 1 million arrivals in Thailand's first half of 2026, spending over 580 billion baht—driven largely by long-stay residents seeking Thailand as a "second home" due to Ukraine conflict and economic pressures at home. This has boomed luxury real estate (condo/villa markets in Phuket, Pattaya, Koh Samui) and premium services. However, authorities are now aggressively cracking down on "nominee" shell companies and foreign capital laundering: a July operation in Chonburi busted 33 nominee networks hiding assets worth 5+ billion baht across ~800 properties, raising concerns about regulatory enforcement and local business displacement.