Menu

United States Institute of Peace

Home ▶ Events

Transnational Organized Crime in Southeast Asia

Countering the Rise of Scam Compounds and the Far-Reaching Criminal Networks Behind Them

Date: Monday, May 13, 2024 / Time: 1:00pm - 2:30pm EDT

Center: Asia Center

Share This
Print the Page

Southeast Asia has become a major breeding ground for transnational criminal networks emanating from China. These organizations operate illegal and unregulated online gambling and sophisticated scamming operations that steal an estimated $64 billion a year from millions of victims around the world. Their compounds — which frequently resemble penal institutions due to their reliance on forced labor — are often established in partnership with powerful local elites, sometimes in urban centers of countries with weak or corrupt governance. From their foothold in Southeast Asia, these criminal networks are increasingly building a presence elsewhere in the world, with signs that they seek connectivity with organized criminal groups globally.

On May 13, USIP hosted a conversation on these rapidly spreading, industrial-scale scam compounds in Southeast Asia. Drawing from USIP’s recent senior study group report on the topic, the discussion illuminated how far-reaching criminal networks have been able to adapt to regional conditions and escape the constraints of law enforcement — as well as how policymakers can counter their malign effects.

Speakers

Andrew Wilder, welcoming remarks
Vice President, Asia Center, U.S. Institute of Peace

Brandon Yoder, keynote remarks
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Intl. Narcotics & Law Enforcement

Erin West
Deputy District Attorney, REACT Task Force, Office of the District Attorney, Santa Clara County

Jacob Sims
Visiting Expert, United States Institute of Peace

Jason Tower
Country Director, Burma, United States Institute of Peace

Nicole Cochran, moderator 
Program Officer, Burma, United States Institute of Peace 

Related Publications

Transnational Crime in Southeast Asia: A Growing Threat to Global Peace and Security

Transnational Crime in Southeast Asia: A Growing Threat to Global Peace and Security

Monday, May 13, 2024

By: USIP Senior Study Group on Transnational Organized Crime in Southeast Asia

Organized crime is a significant driver of conflict globally. It preys on weak governance, slack law enforcement, and inadequate regulation. It tears at the fabric of societies by empowering and enriching armed actors and fueling violent conflict. In Asia, criminal groups prop up corrupt and dangerous regimes from Myanmar to North Korea, posing a direct threat to regional stability.

Type: Report

Democracy & Governance;  Economics;  Global Policy;  Human Rights

Rohingya Face Fresh Uncertainty in Myanmar

Rohingya Face Fresh Uncertainty in Myanmar

Wednesday, May 8, 2024

By: Jessica Olney; Ali Ahmed

An uptick in the conflict between Myanmar’s military and an ethnic armed organization in western Rakhine State is raising new concerns about the fate of the Rohingya population. In 2017, over 800,000 Rohingya, a mostly Muslim community, fled to Bangladesh to escape genocide committed against them by members of Myanmar’s military in Rakhine State. Now, emboldened by the military’s increasing vulnerability in the face of an armed resistance, the Arakan Army has vowed to push aggressively to expand its territorial and administrative control across the state. But its leaders have been unclear about their plans to address the Rohingya issue.

Type: Analysis

Global Policy

Nine Things to Know About Myanmar’s Conflict Three Years On

Nine Things to Know About Myanmar’s Conflict Three Years On

Tuesday, April 30, 2024

By: Ye Myo Hein

On March 28, 2021, barely two months after the February 1 coup in Myanmar, a minor skirmish erupted at the Tarhan protest in Kalay township in central Sagaing region as demonstrators took up makeshift weapons to defend themselves against ruthless assaults by the junta’s security forces. This was the first recorded instance of civilian armed resistance to the military’s violent crackdown on peaceful protesters since the February 1 coup d’état.

Type: Analysis

Global Policy

China Forces Myanmar Scam Syndicates to Move to Thai Border

China Forces Myanmar Scam Syndicates to Move to Thai Border

Monday, April 22, 2024

By: Jason Tower; Priscilla A. Clapp

While Myanmar has long been the chief venue for the criminal operations of Chinese-origin gangs in Southeast Asia, these organizations have always stood ready to move — internally or across borders — if their sources of protection dissolved. In recent months, the organized crime kingpins have once again faced a fraying safety net. This time, the cause is the weakening of Myanmar’s corrupt coup regime in the face of a rising, multi-front revolution and, perhaps more importantly, an aggressive push by China’s law enforcement authorities.

Type: Analysis

Global Policy

View All Publications