She Zhijiang

She Zhijiang (Chinese: 佘智江; pinyin: Shé Zhìjiāng), known as Tang Kriang Kai (Khmer: តាំង គ្រាង ខាយ),[1] and by numerous other aliases including She Lunkai, and Dylan She,[note 1] is a Chinese Cambodian businessman and chairman of Yatai International Holdings Group, which has gambling investments throughout Southeast Asia, including Cambodia, the Philippines, and Myanmar.[2] A convicted criminal in China, She was a fugitive until his capture by Thai police in August 2022. His business operations have been linked with human trafficking, extortion, and cyber scams.[3][4]

In this Chinese name, the family name is She.
She Zhijiang
佘智江
តាំង គ្រាង ខាយ
Born1982 (1982) (age 41)
Shaodong, Hunan Province, China
NationalityChinese (1982-2017)
Cambodian (since 2017)
Other namesTang Kriang Kai
Occupation
  • Businessman
OrganizationYatai International Holdings Group

Early life

He was born in Shaodong, Hunan, China c. 1982.[5][6]

Business interests

His company, Yatai International Holdings Group (abbreviated Yatai IHG), is registered in Hong Kong and headquartered in Thailand.[2] She became a fugitive in 2012, after fleeing Chinese authorities.[7] In 2014, a Shandong court convicted him of running an illegal lottery business in the Philippines that targeted Chinese online users, and had netted US$298 million in profits.[8]

In 2015, he began building a business in Cambodia, involved in the illicit business of helping Chinese gamblers front-load gambling bets made in Cambodian casinos.[2] From there, he expanded his business interests to the Philippines and acquired ownership of one of Manila's largest spa and entertainment centers.[2] In 2017, he acquired Cambodian citizenship, during which he changed his name to Tang Kriang Kai.[7] Cambodia's government grants citizenship to individuals who donate at least US$250,000 to the government.[7] Between January 2018 and February 2021, She allegedly colluded to register gambling companies and recruited 330,000 gamblers, netting US$22.2 million in proceeds from gambling scams.[9]

Foray into Myanmar

In 2017, Yatai received a conditional permit from the Myanmar Investment Commission to develop a small-scale housing estate in Shwe Kokko, near the Burmese-Thai border town of Myawaddy.[2] Shwe Kokko is controlled by the Kayin State Border Guard Force (BGF), consisting of former Democratic Karen Buddhist Army forces that were formally integrated into the Myanmar Armed Forces in 2010.[2][5] In 2019, the Cambodian government banned online gambling, which had come to dominate the local economy in Sihanoukville.[2][10] In response, Chinese casino and other illicit cyber scam operators quickly exited Cambodia, and found a new base at Yatai's development and similar Chinese-led developments like Saixigang and Huanya International New City Project, along Myanmar's borders.[2]

In promotional materials, Yatai claimed to be developing a US$15 billion special economic zone called the Yatai New City, encompassing 120 square kilometres (46 sq mi).[2] The scale of Yatai's ongoing development surpassed what had been approved by the Burmese government, prompting additional scrutiny from Burmese authorities.[11] In 2020, Myanmar's civilian-led government formed a tribunal to investigate irregularities in the Yatai development project, successfully halting the project.[12][13] Tensions between the Kayin State Border Guard Force and the Myanmar Armed Forces escalated over the development.[14] The Chinese government distanced itself from Yatai's development, after an expose on She was published by Caixin.[15][6]

However, after the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, during which the Burmese military deposed the civilian-led government, the military became pre-occupied with addressing the ensuing Myanmar civil war, enabling the development in Shwe Kokko, now a regional human trafficking and cyber scamming hub, to resume.[16][17][12][18] Buildings have been converted into prison-like hubs from which cybercriminals run scams that target internet users around the world.[19]

Arrest in Thailand

On 13 August 2022, Thai police arrested She in Bangkok, with plans to extradite him to China to face criminal charges.[9]

Notes
  1. She Zhijiang (佘智江) is his legal official names in China, while Tang Kriang Kai (តាំង គ្រាង ខាយ) is his official name in Cambodia.

References
  1. https://ocm.gov.kh/ocmwinwin20/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Chronology-Sem-1-end.pdf
  2. Tower, Jason; Clapp, Priscilla A. (2020-07-27). "Myanmar's Casino Cities: The Role of China and Transnational Criminal Networks". United States Institute of Peace. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  3. "Thai police arrest suspected Chinese gambling kingpin". Reuters. 2022-08-16. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  4. Qi, Desai; Lee, Yuk Yue; Cheng, Raymond (2022-08-23). "Human trafficking, job scams linked to Chinese-owned casinos in Sihanoukville". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  5. Nachemson, Andrew (2020-07-07). "The mystery man behind the Shwe Kokko project". Frontier Myanmar. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  6. Tang, Ailin; Fan, Wenjun; Liang, Shuting; Han, Wei (2020-10-26). "Cover Story: A Fugitive Businessman's High-Profile Bet in Myanmar - Caixin Global". Caixin Global. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  7. "Chinese gambling kingpin taken into custody in Bangkok". AFP. 2022-08-13.
  8. Strangio, Sebastian. "China Shows Signs of Cracking Down on 'Silk Road' Crime". thediplomat.com. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  9. "Chinese gambling kingpin taken into custody in Bangkok". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  10. Strangio, Sebastian. "Inside China's Belt and Road Tangle". thediplomat.com. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  11. Han, Naw Betty (2019-09-05). "Shwe Kokko: A paradise for Chinese investment". Frontier Myanmar. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  12. Clapp, Priscilla; Tower, Jason (2022-11-09). "Myanmar's Criminal Zones: A Growing Threat to Global Security". United States Institute of Peace. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  13. Kyaw Thu (2020-06-16). "Myanmar Govt to Probe Contentious Chinese Development on Thai Border". The Irrawaddy. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  14. Han, Naw Betty (2020-12-30). "Shwe Kokko locked down as locals fear clashes between Tatmadaw, BGF". Frontier Myanmar. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  15. "中方支持缅方依法依规处理"亚太新城"问题". 中华人民共和国驻缅甸联邦共和国大使馆 (in Chinese). 2020-08-25. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  16. "With conflict escalating, Karen BGF gets back to business". Frontier Myanmar. 2021-05-13. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  17. Frontier (2022-06-23). "Scam City: How the coup brought Shwe Kokko back to life". Frontier Myanmar. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  18. "Cambodia scams: Lured and trapped into slavery in South East Asia". BBC News. 2022-09-20. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  19. Solomon, Feliz. "A Casino Kingpin Pitched a City in Myanmar—Police Say He Helped Build a Crime Haven". WSJ. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
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