She Zhijiang

{{Infobox criminal

| name = She Zhijiang

| native_name = {{lang|zh|佘智江}}

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| other_names = {{ubl|Tang Kriang Kai|She Lunkai|Dylan She}}

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| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1982}}{{Cite web |last=Nachemson |first=Andrew |date=2020-07-07 |title=The mystery man behind the Shwe Kokko project |url=https://www.frontiermyanmar.net/en/the-mystery-man-behind-the-shwe-kokko-project/ |access-date=2023-03-02 |website=Frontier Myanmar |language=en-US}}

| birth_place = Shaodong, Hunan, China{{Cite web |last1=Tang |first1=Ailin |last2=Fan |first2=Wenjun |last3=Liang |first3=Shuting |last4=Han |first4=Wei |date=2020-10-26 |title=Cover Story: A Fugitive Businessman's High-Profile Bet in Myanmar - Caixin Global |url=https://www.caixinglobal.com/2020-10-26/cover-story-a-fugitive-businessmans-high-profile-bet-in-myanmar-101618684.html |access-date=2023-03-02 |website=Caixin Global |language=en}}

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| citizenship = Chinese (according to the PRC's Foreign Ministry)
Cambodian (since 2017)

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| occupation = {{hlist|Businessman}}

| organization = Yatai International Holdings Group

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| conviction = Illegal lottery business targeting Chinese online users (2014 in Shandong)

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| capture_status = Detained

| wanted_by = China

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| wanted_since = 2014

| time_at_large = {{time ago|2014|ago=}}

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| apprehended = 13 August 2022

| imprisoned = Prison in Thailand

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She Zhijiang ({{lang-zh||p=Shé Zhìjiāng|s=佘智江}}), known as Tang Kriang Kai ({{langx|km|តាំង គ្រាង ខាយ}}),https://ocm.gov.kh/ocmwinwin20/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Chronology-Sem-1-end.pdf and by numerous other aliases including She Lunkai, and Dylan She,{{notetag|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.}} is a Chinese Cambodian businessman. As the chairman of the Yatai International Holdings Group, he and his group has long been engaged in investment and operation in grey Industries such as the gambling industry in Southeast Asia. The main targets of these industries are Chinese citizens (China's strict prohibition on gambling has led to the rampant online gambling industry targeting Chinese citizens) and Southeast Asians.{{Cite web |last1=Tower |first1=Jason |last2=Clapp |first2=Priscilla A. |date=2020-07-27 |title=Myanmar's Casino Cities: The Role of China and Transnational Criminal Networks |url=https://www.usip.org/publications/2020/07/myanmars-casino-cities-role-china-and-transnational-criminal-networks |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730084957/https://www.usip.org/publications/2020/07/myanmars-casino-cities-role-china-and-transnational-criminal-networks |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 30, 2020 |access-date=2023-03-02 |website=United States Institute of Peace |language=en}} As convicted criminal in China, She Zhijiang 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.{{Cite news |last= |date=2022-08-16 |title=Thai police arrest suspected Chinese gambling kingpin |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/thai-police-arrest-suspected-chinese-gambling-kingpin-2022-08-15/ |access-date=2023-03-02}}{{Cite web |last1=Qi |first1=Desai |last2=Lee |first2=Yuk Yue |last3=Cheng |first3=Raymond |date=2022-08-23 |title=Human trafficking, job scams linked to Chinese-owned casinos in Sihanoukville |url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/taiwan-cambodia-scam-08232022132211.html |access-date=2023-03-02 |website=Radio Free Asia |language=en}}

{{As of|2025|01}}, he is still in detention in prison in Thailand.{{Cite web |date=2025-01-28 |title=Dept. of Corrections clarifies detention of gambling tycoon "She Zhijiang" following laws |url=https://www.nationthailand.com/blogs/news/general/40045662 |access-date=2025-02-07 |website=nationthailand |language=en-US}}

Early life

He was born on {{Circa|1982}} in Shaodong, Hunan, China.

Business interests

His company, Yatai International Holdings Group (abbreviated Yatai IHG), is registered in Hong Kong and headquartered in Thailand. He became a fugitive in 2012, after fleeing Chinese authorities.{{Cite news |date=2022-08-13 |title=Chinese gambling kingpin taken into custody in Bangkok |work=AFP |url=https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2022/08/13/chinese-gambling-kingpin-taken-into-custody-in-bangkok/?__cf_chl_tk=REVfRxleTZAxWQOelREynBVKICWlhc86CDfJvlSeeto-1677717009-0-gaNycGzNC2U}} 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.{{Cite web |last=Strangio |first=Sebastian |title=China Shows Signs of Cracking Down on 'Silk Road' Crime |url=https://thediplomat.com/2020/10/china-shows-signs-of-cracking-down-on-silk-road-crime/ |access-date=2023-03-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101014231/https://thediplomat.com/2020/10/china-shows-signs-of-cracking-down-on-silk-road-crime/|archive-date=1 November 2020|work=The Diplomat |language=en-US}}{{cite news |last1=Tang |first1=Ailin |last2=Fan |first2=Wenjun |last3=Liang |first3=Shuting |last4=Han |first4=Wei |title=A fugitive Chinese businessman's high-profile bet in Myanmar - Nikkei Asia |url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Caixin/A-fugitive-Chinese-businessman-s-high-profile-bet-in-Myanmar |access-date=9 October 2024 |work=Nikkei Asia |agency=Caixin |date=27 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101003405/https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Caixin/A-fugitive-Chinese-businessman-s-high-profile-bet-in-Myanmar |archive-date=1 November 2020}}

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. From there, he expanded his business interests to the Philippines and acquired ownership of one of Manila's largest spa and entertainment centers. In January 2017, he acquired Cambodian citizenship, during which he changed his name to Tang Kriang Kai.{{cite journal |last1=Tower |first1=Jason |last2=Clapp |first2=Priscilla |title=Myanmar's Casino Cities: The Role of China and Transnational Criminal Networks |journal=Special Report |date=July 2020 |issue=471 |page=9 |url=https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/2020-07/20200727-sr_471-myanmars_casino_cities_the_role_of_china_and_transnational_criminal_networks-sr.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200828073512/https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/2020-07/20200727-sr_471-myanmars_casino_cities_the_role_of_china_and_transnational_criminal_networks-sr.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 28, 2020 |publisher=United States Institute of Peace}} Cambodia's government grants citizenship to individuals who donate at least US$250,000 to the government. Between January 2018 and February 2021, he allegedly colluded to register gambling companies and recruited 330,000 gamblers, netting US$22.2 million in proceeds from gambling scams.{{Cite news |title=Chinese gambling kingpin taken into custody in Bangkok |language=en |work=Bangkok Post |date=August 13, 2022 |url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2367871/chinese-gambling-kingpin-taken-into-custody-in-bangkok |access-date=2023-03-02}}

= 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. The Nation alleged that Wan Kuok-koi, a former leader of the 14K syndicate, was a co-investor in the project.https://www.nationthailand.com/news/general/40046012

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. In 2019, the Cambodian government banned online gambling, which had come to dominate the local economy in Sihanoukville.{{Cite web |last=Strangio |first=Sebastian |title=Inside China's Belt and Road Tangle |url=https://thediplomat.com/2020/09/inside-chinas-belt-and-road-tangle/ |access-date=2023-03-02 |website=thediplomat.com |language=en-US}} 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.

In promotional materials, Yatai claimed to be developing a US$15 billion special economic zone called the Yatai New City, encompassing {{Convert|120|km2}}. The scale of Yatai's ongoing development surpassed what had been approved by the Burmese government, prompting additional scrutiny from Burmese authorities.{{Cite web |last=Han |first=Naw Betty |date=2019-09-05 |title=Shwe Kokko: A paradise for Chinese investment |url=https://www.frontiermyanmar.net/en/shwe-kokko-a-paradise-for-chinese-investment/ |access-date=2023-03-02 |website=Frontier Myanmar |language=en-US}} In 2020, Myanmar's civilian-led government formed a tribunal to investigate irregularities in the Yatai development project, successfully halting the project.{{Cite web |last1=Clapp |first1=Priscilla |last2=Tower |first2=Jason |date=2022-11-09 |title=Myanmar's Criminal Zones: A Growing Threat to Global Security |url=https://www.usip.org/publications/2022/11/myanmars-criminal-zones-growing-threat-global-security |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221109212434/https://www.usip.org/publications/2022/11/myanmars-criminal-zones-growing-threat-global-security |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 9, 2022 |access-date=2023-03-02 |website=United States Institute of Peace |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Kyaw Thu |date=2020-06-16 |title=Myanmar Govt to Probe Contentious Chinese Development on Thai Border |url=https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmar-govt-probe-contentious-chinese-development-thai-border.html |access-date=2023-03-02 |website=The Irrawaddy |language=en-US}} Tensions between the Kayin State Border Guard Force and the Myanmar Armed Forces escalated over the development.{{Cite web |last=Han |first=Naw Betty |date=2020-12-30 |title=Shwe Kokko locked down as locals fear clashes between Tatmadaw, BGF |url=https://www.frontiermyanmar.net/en/shwe-kokko-locked-down-as-locals-fear-clashes-between-tatmadaw-bgf/ |access-date=2023-03-02 |website=Frontier Myanmar |language=en-US}} The government of the People's Republic of China distanced itself from Yatai's development, after an expose on She was published by Caixin.{{Cite web |date=2020-08-25 |title=中方支持缅方依法依规处理"亚太新城"问题 |url=http://mm.china-embassy.gov.cn/sgjj/202008/t20200825_1380362.htm |access-date=2023-03-02 |website=中华人民共和国驻缅甸联邦共和国大使馆 |language=zh}}

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.{{Cite web |last= |date=2021-05-13 |title=With conflict escalating, Karen BGF gets back to business |url=https://www.frontiermyanmar.net/en/with-conflict-escalating-karen-bgf-gets-back-to-business/ |access-date=2023-03-02 |website=Frontier Myanmar |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Frontier |date=2022-06-23 |title=Scam City: How the coup brought Shwe Kokko back to life |url=https://www.frontiermyanmar.net/en/scam-city-how-the-coup-brought-shwe-kokko-back-to-life/ |access-date=2023-03-02 |website=Frontier Myanmar |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |date=2022-09-20 |title=Cambodia scams: Lured and trapped into slavery in South East Asia |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-62792875 |access-date=2023-03-02}} Buildings have been converted into prison-like hubs from which cybercriminals run scams that target internet users around the world.{{Cite web |last=Solomon |first=Feliz |title=A Casino Kingpin Pitched a City in Myanmar—Police Say He Helped Build a Crime Haven |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-casino-kingpin-pitched-a-city-in-myanmarpolice-say-he-helped-build-a-crime-haven-11664450817 |access-date=2023-03-03 |website=WSJ |date=September 29, 2022 |language=en-US}} In December 2023, the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on She Zhijiang for being linked to "forced labour schemes" in which "victims were trafficked to work for online scam farms".{{Cite press release|title=UK and allies sanction human rights abusers |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-and-allies-sanction-human-rights-abusers |date=

8 December 2023|publisher=Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Home Office, The Rt Hon Lord Cameron and The Rt Hon James Cleverly MP}}{{cite news| last=Head | first=Jonathan | title=Myanmar's Shwe Kokko: Inside a city 'built on scams' |publisher=BBC News | date=6 February 2025 | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c04nx1vnw17o}}

Arrest and detention in Thailand

On 13 August 2022, Thai police arrested She in Bangkok, with plans to extradite him to China to face criminal charges. After his appearance in a documentary for Al Jazeera he was moved out his detention center.{{cite news |last1=Tulad |first1=Victoria |title=Chinese self-confessed spy now unreachable: Hontiveros |url=https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/10/17/chinese-self-confessed-spy-now-unreachable-hontiveros-1613 |access-date=19 October 2024 |work=ABS-CBN News |date=17 October 2024}}

{{As of|2025|01}}, he was being kept in Klong Prem Central Prison in Thailand, having been moved there from Bangkok Remand Prison in October 2024.{{Cite web |last1=McPherson |first1=Poppy |last2=Wongcha-um |first2=Panu |date=January 26, 2025 |title=Detained tycoon She Zhijiang, who says he spied for China, alleges abuse in Thai jail |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/gambling-tycoon-abused-thai-jail-after-saying-he-spied-china-lawyers-say-2025-01-24/ |access-date=7 February 2025 |website=Reuters}} His lawyers have claimed that he had been subjected to abuse in prison. It was reported that he had been kept in chains until early December 2024.

Self-proclaimed "Chinese spy"

Since being arrested by Thai police, She Zhijiang has repeatedly claimed that he is a Chinese spy and will be “killed” by Chinese government “for political purposes”. Through these statements, he sought not to be extradited to China to face trial.

September 2024, She Zhijiang appeared in a Al Jazeera short documentary.{{cite news |last1=Buan |first1=Lian |title=Alice Guo riled up by report tagging her as Chinese spy: 'It's so unfair!' |url=https://www.rappler.com/philippines/alice-guo-riled-up-report-tagging-her-chinese-spy/ |access-date=28 September 2024 |work=Rappler |date=27 September 2024}}{{cite news |last1=Oliquino |first1=Edjen |title=Self-confessed Chinese asset names Alice Guo a Chinese spy |url=https://tribune.net.ph/2024/09/27/self-confessed-chinese-asset-names-alice-guo-a-chinese-spy |access-date=28 September 2024 |work=Daily Tribune |date=28 September 2024 |language=en}} He claimed to have been recruited by the Chinese government in 2016 while in the Philippines.{{cite news |last1=Buan |first1=Lian |title=She Zhijiang, the crime leader alleging Chinese espionage in PH through POGOs |url=https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/she-zhijiang-crime-leader-alleging-chinese-espionage-philippines-through-pogos/ |access-date=9 October 2024 |work=Rappler |date=8 October 2024}} In this documentary, he also alleged former Philippine mayor Alice Guo who governed the town of Bamban in the Philippines is also a Chinese spy “just like him”. He called on Guo to admit her "spy identity" as soon as possible. He expressed his hope to “cooperate” with the Philippine government. Alice Guo denied knowing She Zhijiang in House of Representatives inquiries and Senate hearings.