On May 13th, the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) released a report titled "Transnational Crime in Southeast Asia: A Growing Threat to Global Peace and Security," focusing on the issue of online scams in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos. According to the report, online scams bring in $12.5 billion in revenue annually for Cambodia, surpassing half of Cambodia's GDP.
The report indicates that transnational online gambling scam syndicates in Southeast Asia mainly originate from China. Due to China's comprehensive ban on gambling, these syndicates have shifted their operations to Southeast Asia. As of the end of 2023, conservative estimates suggest that these scam activities have generated profits exceeding $64 billion.
The report highlights that Southeast Asian online gambling scam syndicates establish contacts with local government officials and business elites through seemingly legitimate businesses such as casinos, hotels, resorts, and economic zones. Subsequently, they obtain protection from local political and business elites through "material incentives."
Due to the enormous profits generated by the online gambling scam industry, protecting such activities has become a strategic interest for ruling elites in Myanmar, Cambodia, and other Southeast Asian countries. In Cambodia, the annual "returns" from online gambling scams are estimated to exceed $12.5 billion, accounting for half of the country's official GDP, with many scam hubs owned by local elites.
These online gambling scam groups also engage in complex money laundering activities to launder funds into legitimate economies such as real estate. Apart from Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand, such money laundering activities are rampant in financial centers like Singapore, Hong Kong, and Dubai. Additionally, these groups have purchased significant amounts of real estate in the UK, Europe, Canada, and the United States.
The US Institute of Peace, a federal government agency, states in the report that the United States has become a major victim of Southeast Asian scam industries. In 2023, Americans lost $3.5 billion due to Southeast Asian scam activities. In December 2023, the US Department of Justice filed lawsuits against four individuals in the United States for their involvement in an $80 million online scam case.
The report suggests that the United States and China, as the two countries most severely affected by the online scam industry, will play a crucial role in international countermeasures. Failure to coordinate action between the two countries could allow criminal syndicates to exploit resulting loopholes to sustain their activities.
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