Emergency Edition: Scams and Shackles

Jason Tower, country director for the Burma program at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), exposes the dark underbelly of an operation that ensnares hundreds of thousands of people into a form of modern-day slavery across Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and the Philippines, forcing them to act as scammers in this multibillion dollar “industry.”

Describing these scams as “pig butchering” because they’re designed to lead unaware dupes to the slaughter, Tower reveals a highly organized criminal network that resembling modern IT companies employing advanced technology, AI, and fintech to deceive victims globally, and which also engages in prostitution, illegal narcotics, and organ harvesting. The kingpins behind this lucrative industry invest heavily in creating legitimate fronts, as well as fraudulent crypto schemes. Owned by wealthy clans with ties to the Myanmar military and partly protected by junta-aligned Border Guard Forces, these centers help fund the military regime.

The relationship between the scam centers and the Myanmar military poses challenges for Beijing, because many of those trapped into acting as scammers being held in horrible conditions are Chinese nationals. This has caused some speculation that China may even have tacitly approved the recent Operation 1027.

The recent release of 31,000 victims and arrests of key actors offer a glimmer of hope amid this sordid business, but a grim reality persists—75% of Myanmar's scam center victims remain in bondage, and security forces, complicit in the criminal enterprise, have resorted to violence against those attempting to escape.

"The point here is, we've got a major global crisis on our hands that extends way beyond Myanmar, and many people in Myanmar are being victimized by this,” Tower says in closing. “This is something that's playing a role in violent conflict in Myanmar, but it's also something that's touching people and harming people all around the world!”