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Slowdown at Golden Triangle casino hub, Telegraph reports
The British newspaper said it had visited the so-called “Sin City”, a special economic zone on the banks of the Mekong River where Laos, Thailand and Myanmar meet, and found once-bustling casinos, hotels and entertainment districts largely deserted.
The zone was established nearly two decades ago by Zhao Wei, a Chinese gambling tycoon, and is controlled by the Kings Romans Group. U.S. authorities have designated Zhao’s operation as a transnational criminal organisation, alleging involvement in drug trafficking, money laundering, wildlife crime and human trafficking.
According to The Telegraph, Zhao and his network have been under mounting scrutiny since 2018, when the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions over alleged narcotics trafficking. The UK followed in 2023, sanctioning Zhao and his wife for their alleged links to human trafficking and forced labour connected to online scam centres targeting English-speaking victims.
During its visit, The Telegraph described a stark contrast between the enclave’s lavish architecture — including luxury cars, Venetian-style plazas and large casinos — and its current economic slump. Hotels were offering discounted rooms, construction projects were stalled and large sections of the city were unlit at night, the paper reported.
Local workers told the newspaper that many of the so-called “chatting companies”, a euphemism for scam operations, had left the area in recent months following police inspections and raids. These centres have been a key driver of the region’s underground economy since the COVID-19 pandemic, running large-scale romance, cryptocurrency and impersonation scams, often using trafficked labour.
Once-booming Mekong scam hub falters under international pressure
At its peak, the Golden Triangle region was estimated to host hundreds of thousands of people working in scam operations, generating billions of dollars annually, according to research cited by The Telegraph from the U.S. Institute of Peace. Sin City and surrounding areas in Laos alone were estimated to be producing nearly $11 billion a year in illicit revenues.
The report said international pressure, particularly from China, whose citizens have been heavily targeted by scams, has intensified enforcement efforts across the region. In neighbouring Myanmar, the military government has demolished buildings linked to major scam hubs, while Laos has reportedly arrested and repatriated hundreds of scam workers in recent months.
Experts quoted by The Telegraph said the shift marked a change in strategy, with authorities increasingly targeting senior figures rather than low-level operators. However, analysts cautioned that the crackdown may simply be displacing criminal networks rather than dismantling them.
Sanctions hit Laos-based special economic zone
“These operations are highly adaptable,” Richard Horsey of the International Crisis Group told the newspaper, noting that scam centres are increasingly moving into ordinary office buildings and residential areas to avoid detection.
Despite the apparent downturn, there is little evidence that Zhao Wei’s business empire has been permanently dismantled, the report said. Analysts cited by The Telegraph noted that local authorities in Laos continue to rely on Kings Romans Group as a partner in enforcement campaigns, raising doubts about long-term reform.
Census data reviewed by the newspaper suggested the enclave’s population has fallen sharply, while much of its senior management has reportedly stepped back from public life. Zhao himself has made few appearances in recent months.
Still, some residents expressed optimism that the downturn would be temporary, with rumours circulating of new investment projects aimed at reviving the zone. For now, The Telegraph concluded, Sin City appears to be in retreat – a rare pause in a region that has become synonymous with the rapid growth and equally rapid mutation of transnational cybercrime.
