Chinese gangs revive cyber scam centers in Myanmar
Report shows Beijing’s focus has shifted from cracking down on fraud to supporting the Burmese military
A report by the US Institute of Peace highlights the resurgence of scam hubs in Myanmar’s Karen State. It is due to China’s softened stance toward the country’s military regime.
Beijing’s posture has shifted, according to Jason Tower, the co-author of the report and the country director for Myanmar at the institute. He told Voice of America’s Burmese service:
They’re now much more focused on regime survival, looking at how they can prevent the [Myanmar] regime from toppling. As a result, China has shown much less interest in taking forceful action to pressure the military to address these problems.
The report illustrated that criminal networks benefit from the complex dynamics between Myanmar’s military and Chinese interests. Beijing’s focus has shifted from cracking down on scams to supporting the Burmese military.
This change in strategy has allowed criminal organizations to flourish, using Myanmar as a base of operations.
Scam operations
After contacting the Chinese Embassy in Washington about the issue, VOA received a statement that did not directly address cyber scam operations. Instead, it emphasized Beijing’s focus on peace and stability in Myanmar.
Spokesperson Liu Pengyu wrote:
China and Myanmar are close neighbors with a deep bond of friendship. As a friendly neighbor, China has always paid close attention to the development and evolution of the situation in Myanmar and northern Myanmar.
“We do not hope to see conflict or chaos in Myanmar and sincerely hope for an early restoration of stability,” Liu said.
China’s Ministry of Public Security portrayed the situation differently in a report published earlier this week by China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency.
In a statement on its “crackdown” on cyber scams, the report said, the ministry highlighted joint efforts with Myanmar authorities, noting:
[That] a total of 870 suspects, including 313 Chinese and 557 Myanmar nationals, were arrested during a crackdown on telecom and online fraud in northern Myanmar.
The country’s state-controlled media, Global New Light of Myanmar, also focused on the “crackdown.” It pointed out that police had worked closely with Beijing in extraditing 20 Chinese nationals in September.
China’s view on the conflict constantly evolves based on events inside Myanmar, according to Thomas Kean, a senior consultant at the International Crisis Group, a nongovernmental think tank. He said:
Since 2021, we’ve seen different phases, but ultimately, China wants stability in Myanmar to pursue its strategic objectives, keep its borders safe, and ensure that Chinese nationals and the economy aren’t affected.
Strategic goals
Tower, of the US Institute of Peace, described how China’s priorities have shifted from addressing scams to focusing on maintaining its strategic interests in the country.
“The Chinese government began prioritizing the advancement of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, which includes infrastructure and trade routes, giving China access to the Indian Ocean,” he added.
Tower said some Chinese strategists had suggested that Beijing had, perhaps, gone too far in its crackdown on the scam syndicates, losing sight of its broader strategic goals.
As a result, it has pushed hard to broker cease-fire agreements between Myanmar’s military and ethnic armed groups to stabilize the region. Still, the Chinese scams emanating from Myanmar have grown in sophistication, the US Institute of Peace reported.
The United States has become one of the primary targets, losing billions of dollars annually to what is known as “pig butchering.” Scammers lure victims on social media and defraud them for significant amounts of money.
Many Americans have fallen victim to “pig butchering” from Myanmar scam hubs. Erin West, a deputy district attorney with California’s REACT Task Force, said:
They’ve liquidated retirement accounts [and] children’s college funds, only to find out that the entire thing is fictitious, and they’ve lost everything.
Victims are lured into fraudulent online relationships, believing they are investing in cryptocurrency, West revealed.
While some criminals are deported to China, broader networks remain primarily untouched and continue to operate with the protection of local warlords and Burmese military elites.
National security
Tower, of the US Institute of Peace, is concerned that these scams will increasingly become a threat to US national security. He said:
These scams are currently causing estimated losses in the range of [US]$5.5 billion per year for the US, but other estimates place the numbers as high as $15 billion.
These actors are often under the protection of the Myanmar military or other corrupt regional elites, he stressed, making it difficult for law enforcement to intervene, adding:
This is a serious crisis. We’re seeing a massive transfer of wealth from the United States to bad actors in Southeast Asia. [These] actors are undermining democracy.
“[They are] highly corrupt and often under the protection of the Myanmar military or other corrupt elites. This is bad news for the US on many fronts,” Tower said.
Nyein Chan Aye is a producer at Voice of America.
This article is republished courtesy of Voice of America. Read the original article here.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of China Factor.