Authorities across Southeast Asia have intensified their efforts to combat illegal gambling networks that remain highly active throughout the region.
Recently, the Thai Court of Appeal approved the extradition of She Zhijiang to China, where he is accused of organizing more than 200 illegal online gambling operations. She, who holds both Chinese and Cambodian citizenship, was arrested in Bangkok in August 2022. The court’s decision requires that he be sent to China within 90 days.
According to The Nation, She’s operations had a total cash flow exceeding 12.6 trillion baht (around £294.9 billion).
He and his company, Yatai International Holdings Group, were involved in developing the Yatai New City project in Myanmar’s Shwe Kokko Special Economic Zone, which hosted two casinos targeting Chinese gamblers. Shwe Kokko has repeatedly been linked to cyber scams and human trafficking.
In September, the U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on She Zhijiang in connection with the Yatai New City project. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated She and his affiliated companies as “foreign persons responsible for or complicit in, directly or indirectly engaged in, serious human rights abuses.”
In 2023, the United Kingdom also imposed sanctions on She for his links to forced labor schemes in Cambodia, where workers were trafficked to participate in fraudulent online operations.
Illegal gambling and broader cybercrime activities have become a persistent problem throughout Southeast Asia.
Last week, authorities in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore confirmed that they had seized assets worth approximately $615 million linked to Prince Holding Group and its founder Chen Zhi. The group has been accused by the UK and U.S. governments of using abandoned casinos to run scam operations that defrauded victims of billions of dollars.
Evidence also suggests that the Cambodian conglomerate was involved in human trafficking, forcing foreign nationals to participate in scam operations under the threat of torture.
Chen has been charged by the U.S. Department of Justice with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering in connection with Prince Group’s alleged operation of forced-labor scam compounds in Cambodia.
In total, joint actions by the UK and U.S. have targeted 146 individuals connected to the group and its operations across Southeast Asia and the Pacific region.
These cases highlight why jurisdictions such as the Isle of Man have cautioned against cooperating with companies linked to the region, citing the high risk of “criminal infiltration.”
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