Once brightly lit and bustling around the clock, the Myawaddy telecom fraud park in Myanmar is now on the brink of collapse under the impact of Thailand's "three cuts" operation, barely surviving. With a large number of fraud-related personnel being deported or relocated, the once crowded park is now deserted.
In order to make full use of these abandoned buildings, many parks have started to "change their lines" and embarked on new survival modes. It is reported that some areas of the "Asia-Pacific International" group located in the Myawaddy Gutter Valley have been transformed into large chicken farms, trying to adopt a "self-sufficient" economic model.
Located in the Shwe Kokko area of Myawaddy, Kayin State, Myanmar, this border area just across the river from Thailand, has long been known as the "Wall Street of telecom fraud."
Within the wire fences of its park, thousands of victims are forced into cyber fraud.
However, the behind-the-scenes "operator" BGF leader Soe Chi, has recently transformed, claiming to "reform" the entire Shwe Kokko.
Soe Chi actually wants to transform this "cradle of crime" into a legitimate economic center.
Is this move just a show, or is it really for the development of his governed area?
The rise of Soe Chi is a microcosm of the chaotic situation on the Southeast Asian border.
From an undercover agent of the Myanmar government army to a warlord controlling a region, Soe Chi built a criminal empire worth over 20 billion US dollars by controlling gambling, telecom fraud, and smuggling networks in Myawaddy.
Soe Chi's BGF sustains its nearly ten thousand armed forces with core funds from collecting 30% land rent from the fraud parks, 700 million US dollars in protection fees per year, and directly participating in profit sharing.
This is quite different from Soe Chi's previous claim that he was just a "landlord."
More ironically, the expansion of Soe Chi's power is inseparably linked to the "tacit approval" of the Myanmar government.
In 2010, he transformed the democratic Karen Buddhist Army into a "legitimate" border force certified by the military government, then introduced Chinese capital to build a "New Tech City," which is actually a base for the entire telecom fraud industry chain.
After the 2024 coup in Myanmar, he broke with the military government to deceive the trust of ethnic armed forces, while secretly signing a pact allowing the military to bomb hostile strongholds, thereby consolidating control over the fraud parks.
By playing both sides, he has always remained undefeated in the warlord battles.
"Reform" might be a self-rescue performance
Facing the joint crackdown by China, Thailand, and other countries, Soe Chi's "transformation" plan appears exceptionally high-profile.
He claims to have rescued over 7,000 victims of telecom fraud, plans to repatriate 20,000 people, and announces the construction of a 200-acre industrial zone in Shwe Kokko, introducing animal feed factories, food processing plants, and other legitimate industries, even emphasizing that "Chinese enterprises are the main investors."
On the surface, this seems like a spectacular transformation from a "crime godfather" to a "reform pioneer," but when we study his actions, they are actually full of loopholes:
Soe Chi claims to have rescued thousands, but the number of people handed over by Thai and Myanmar officials is only in the hundreds.
More mysteriously, the BGF recently admitted that most of those captured were low-level managers, with the main culprits still at large.
This "catch the small, release the big" tactic is exactly the same as the strategy used by the four major families in Northern Myanmar to "transfer core assets and scapegoat peripheral gangs."
In early 2025, Soe Chi convened a meeting of telecom fraud leaders, proposing "prohibitions on forced labor and the use of child labor" among other demands, but then transferred the fraud operations to Cambodia and established a "Thai disk" specifically targeting Thai citizens.
This is completely a "left hand strikes, right hand expands" two-faced approach, exposing the hypocrisy of his "compliance."
Another important point is that Soe Chi earns over 100 million US dollars from telecom fraud each year. If he completely transforms, his armed forces will face the risk of a funding break.
Moreover, the entangled interests of Chinese gray investors, local Myanmar forces, and the military government make Soe Chi's "one-size-fits-all" reform almost impossible.
Soe Chi's "whitewashing" plan seems ambitious but faces significant challenges.
Myawaddy is located in the "lawless" area of the Thai-Myanmar border, where the central government of Myanmar has long lacked control, and although Thailand has cut off electricity and the internet and prepared arrest warrants several times, it struggles with cross-border law enforcement.
Soe Chi takes advantage of this "power vacuum" to play all sides against each other.
The current telecom fraud park has already formed a transnational industry chain.
Soe Chi cooperates with Hong Kong gangs and Cambodian casinos, dispersing victims and capital flows to multiple countries, allowing business to quickly shift even if crackdowns tighten in one area.
This "whack-a-mole" style of governance limits the effectiveness of actions by individual countries.
Soe Chi previously packaged telecom fraud as "online gambling companies," claiming it was "legal in many countries," attempting to confuse the issue.
However, in reality, telecom fraud is highly tied to human trafficking, money laundering, and other crimes, and the so-called "industrial zone" may become a tool for laundering illegal funds.
Therefore, the credibility of Soe Chi's reforms is actually zero
Soe Chi's "reform" is essentially a crisis PR stunt.
The approaching threats of internet and power cuts and international arrest warrants from Thailand force this warlord to "transform" to buy breathing space.
However, his past inconsistent stances and symbiotic relationships with criminal groups make any promises seem weak and ineffective.
If we truly want to dismantle the telecom fraud empire, we need to strike at the root of the criminal ecosystem:
1. Cut off the funding chain: The international community needs to coordinate to track illegal fund flows and freeze the overseas assets of Soe Chi and his associated forces;
2. Pressure the Myanmar government: Although the military government is embroiled in civil war, it needs to be forced to cut off covert deals with local armed groups;
3. Protect victim channels: Improve the transnational repatriation mechanism to prevent "rescues" from becoming PR material for local armed groups.
Telecom fraud is not only a cancer in Southeast Asia but also a test stone for global governance.
If we allow the likes of Soe Chi to continue playing the game of "committing crimes with one hand and reforming with the other," behind the wire fences of Myawaddy, new "bloody businesses" will continue to unfold.
