A US bitcoin entrepreneur could be facing the death penalty after Thailand’s navy accused him of violating the nation’s sovereignty by building a “sea home’’ off the coast of Phuket.
Chad Elwartowski and his Thai girlfriend, Supranee Thepdet, known as Nadia, have gone into hiding after the Thai authorities said they would take legal action against the pair for building a “seastead” home.
The structure is made up of an octagon platform sitting atop a 20m-long pillar and lies 22.2km from the shore.
Photo: EPA-EFE
However, Elwartowski insisted the house was 24km from the shore, and therefore outside of Thailand’s jurisdiction.
Elwartowski and Supranee are pioneers of the “seasteading” movement, which envisages building homes and floating cities in seas outside of national jurisdictions, which are therefore not subject to the laws and taxes of any country.
Elwartowski, who worked as a software engineer for the US military in Afghanistan, Germany and South Korea before accumulating his wealth through investing in cryptocurrency bitcoin, is part of Ocean Builders, a community of entrepreneurs who aim to build seasteading communities.
He and Supranee were the first volunteers to live on one of the floating structures and in February said he was drawn to the community as a place where “freedom-loving people can all gather together and actually be free together”.
“Nadia and I are still safe,” he wrote on Facebook on Wednesday, adding that they had not built the home themselves and described himself and Suprenee as “tenants.”
“The person(s) who funded the seastead are concerned about losing the seastead, but Nadia and I were just tenants,” he said. “But as long as Nadia and I are able to live through this that is all that matters to us right now. We just want to live.”
The structure, which was rooted to the floor, but could be floated to new waters, was placed in the sea near Racha Yai Island in Thailand in February.
It was only discovered by Thai navy officers this week. The couple were not aboard at the time.
It led to accusations the couple had “disrespected” Thai law by not seeking permission for the structure. The authorities said they were now considering legal action for a violation of the nation’s sovereignty, charges that carry the death penalty.
Ocean Builders and Elwartowski had plans to expand the seastead, which they had called XLII, beyond just the one home. This month a call was put out for investors to help build another 20 floating seastead homes in the Andaman Sea, claiming he had almost 70 interested investors, though the plans have now been paused.
The Thai navy said in their statement that these plans amounted to an attempt to build another state in sovereign Thai maritime territory.
“There is evidence showing that they have publicly invited people on social media to stay at the site, which is adjacent to our territorial waters,” Vice Admiral Sitthiporn Maskasem, third naval commander of the area, said at a press briefing. “We have laws to deal with this. It affects our sovereignty.”
In his statement on Facebook, Elwartowski expressed concern that Supranee had been driven from her home country and that all their life’s possessions were now under threat.
Sitthiporn made it clear on Wednesday that the Thai navy intended to remove the seastead.
“We have already prepared a vessel, equipment and manpower to move the structure,” Sitthiporn said. “We will try to move it within a week.”
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