More than 2,000 Arrests in Raid on Notorious Scam Hub in Myanmar

Myanmar’s army said more than 2,000 people were arrested in a raid on KK Park, a notorious center for telecom scams close to the Thai border. The military reportedly also seized thirty terminals used to connect the center to Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet network. ...

Mass Arrests in Myanmar as Scam Gang Crackdown Heads to Court

More than 57,000 Chinese nationals have been arrested in Myanmar amid a mass crackdown on gangs running telecoms fraud operations, frequently staffed by victims of trafficking. China’s Ministry of Public Security announced the arrests on Wednesday and said they were carried ...

Cambodia’s Prince Group, Target of U.S. and UK Sanctions

U.S. and UK authorities unveiled sanctions this week against Chen Zhi, a British-Cambodian tycoon accused of running cyberscam operations where workers, some trafficked, carry out transnational fraud schemes that have netted billions of dollars. AFP takes a look at the man, ...

Nigeria Deports 60 Chinese, 39 Filipino Scammers

Nigeria has deported 102 foreigners including 60 Chinese nationals and 39 Filipinos convicted of "cyber-terrorism and internet fraud", its anti-corruption agency said Thursday. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had said in an earlier statement that 50 Chinese were among ...

Chinese Scam Syndicates Shift Base from Southeast Asia to Africa, Report Reveals

Chinese cybercrime networks are expanding operations into Africa as crackdowns intensify in Southeast Asia, according to a recent report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The agency describes the shift as part of a broader trend in which crime “spreads like ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

How to Lure Chinese Financing Back to the Global South: Report

Global South countries face increasing financing pressure, endangering their ability to keep developing while also implementing measures to deal with a growing climate crisis. The disruption of global trade is coupled with a larger megatrend: flows of international capital to the developing world have turned negative. This means that countries are now routinely paying more to service loans than they receive in disbursements.

The vast majority of Global South borrowers ...

Thailand Repatriates Hundreds More Chinese Scam Center Workers

Hundreds of Chinese nationals freed from Myanmar online scam centres flew home through Thailand on Thursday, as the kingdom said it aimed to repatriate 1,500 such workers a week. Thailand, Myanmar and China have been making efforts in recent weeks to ...

China’s Role in Southeast Asia’s Latest Scam Center Crackdown

China, Thailand, and Myanmar last week ramped up efforts to curb cyber scams on the Thai-Myanmar border, working to free the foreign workers inside. AFP examines why the crackdown is occurring now and its broader implications for relations between the three ...

Philippine Police Rescue Kidnapped Chinese Teen, Hunt Ex-Gambling Site Operators

A young kidnap victim clad in pajamas and missing a finger was rescued from the side of a busy Manila thoroughfare this week after his abductors ditched him during a police pursuit, Philippine authorities said Wednesday. The kidnappers, like their teenaged ...

Chinese Scammers Jailed for Life as Border Crisis Intensifies

A Chinese court sentenced four people to life imprisonment for their role in running cross-border scam operations in Southeast Asia. The sentences come as ongoing crackdowns in collaboration with Thai and Myanmarese authorities free hundreds of trafficking victims forced into working at scam centers in Myanmar.

Philippine Police Arrest Over 450 in ‘Chinese-Run’ Scam Center Raid

Philippine police arrested more than 450 people in a raid on an allegedly Chinese-run offshore gaming operator in Manila, the country's anti-organized crime commission has said. Initial interrogations suggested the suburban site had been operating as a scam center, targeting victims ...

Battered Myanmar Scam Center Workers Wait for Deportation to China

Battered and bruised Chinese workers from online scam centers in Myanmar faced an anxious wait with returning home as China and Thailand finalized plans on Wednesday for their repatriation. Scam compounds have flourished in Myanmar's lawless borderlands, staffed by foreigners, many ...

Chinese Officials Visit Thai Border Amid Scam Crisis

China’s Assistant Minister of Public Security, Liu Zhongyi, traveled to the Thai border to meet a group of 300 trafficking victims recently rescued from a scam operation in the notorious Myanmarese town of Myawaddy. Liu would accompany hundreds of victims (held in a camp controlled by the Karen ...
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