In December 2024, Macau, a lively party attracted the attention of security departments from various countries. The host is 69-year-old Yin Guoju, known as "Beng Ya Ju" — the chairman of the World Hongmen Historical and Cultural Association and one of the leaders of the Hong Kong and Macau gang 14K on the US Treasury's sanctions list.
This gangster godfather, who once served 14 years in Macau for violence, usury, and attempted murder, is now reconstructing his power network in the name of "cultural exchange" and "digital economy" across multiple countries. From the Philippines, Laos to South Africa, from traditional Chinese medicine to cryptocurrency, from Hongmen traditions to cross-border fraud, this reborn organization is rapidly expanding its reach, becoming a complex challenge for global security governance.
1. From Macau to the World: The International Transformation of a Gang Leader
After his release, Beng Ya Ju quickly rebuilt his connections under the banner of the Hongmen Association, establishing networks across Southeast Asia, Africa, Australia, and even the Middle East. According to US intelligence, his organization uses the "World Hongmen Historical and Cultural Association" as a front, continuing to engage in fraud, money laundering, human trafficking, and illegal gambling. The association is accused of being a front for the Hong Kong and Macau 14K gang, which is now one of the largest Chinese criminal groups globally, estimated to have hundreds of thousands of members worldwide.
According to investigations, the association has invested in setting up "special zones" or fraud parks in places like Myawaddy in Myanmar, Pong Tam in Cambodia, and Mo Ding in Laos, under the guise of attracting investment and overseas development, but in reality, they are running an underground empire. Cases of tele-fraud, kidnapping, human trafficking, and money laundering are frequent in these zones, with several homicides linked to their personnel.
2. Related to the Cases of Guo Congyuan and Guo Huaping: Hongmen and the Philippine Black Gold Network
Beng Ya Ju had close ties with Guo Congyuan, a victim of the 2025 Filipino-Chinese kidnapping and murder case. Guo once served as the honorary chairman of the Hongmen Progressive Party headquarters and supported Beng Ya Ju during the launch of the "Hong Coin" cryptocurrency in Manila in 2018. Packaged as "blockchain + national revival," Hong Coin was quickly sold in Cambodia and the Philippines, accumulating over 400 million coins. However, it soon collapsed, and some victims claimed they were defrauded.
The Hongmen organization is not only active in the cryptocurrency market but is also accused by multiple countries of involvement in gambling and fraud. In Malaysia, they have alliances with casinos, officials, and financiers to manipulate the stock market and launder money; in the Philippines, they have long been active in the POGO tele-fraud industry. According to Philippine Senator Lisa Hongtiveros, Yin Guoju still "remotely controls some of the gambling and tele-fraud businesses within the Philippines."
3. Blending Politics and Business: Hongmen's "Legitimization" Path and Security Cover
In recent years, Yin Guoju has frequently appeared at various "official" events, closely interacting with local elites. He has participated in traditional Chinese medicine collaborations in Laos and opened the "Hongmen Life Pavilion" in Phnom Penh, promoting "Hongmen brand cigarettes, tea, and alcohol." The store is luxurious but not open to the public, described as a "symbolic power center." Members of the organization often claim to be cultural pioneers of the "Chinese national revival," yet they are accused by the United Nations and multiple law enforcement agencies of being a "new type of transnational black gold network."
Even in Uganda and South Africa, the organization has set up suspected "Chinese autonomous organizations," ostensibly to protect overseas Chinese but actually serving as bases for tele-fraud, human trafficking, and money laundering. According to Thai police investigations, a Hongmen "overseas chairman" named Bai Zhao Hui, who has been arrested multiple times for rape, has fled to South Africa to establish a new company and continue expanding the organization's influence.
4. Expanding Under Pressure: Why is Hongmen "Indestructible"?
Despite extensive sanctions by the United States against the Hongmen Association and Yin Guoju himself, the organization remains highly active in Southeast Asia and Africa. One reason is its close relationships with certain national elites; another important factor is its increasing packaging of itself as a "cultural institution" and "business investor," avoiding direct criminal responsibility.
In 2023, the Hongmen organization opened a new company in Cambodia and held a grand opening ceremony, inviting military generals and political high-levels to attend. The vice-chairman of the association, Cai Zhiqin, serves as a corporate director, nominally producing and selling goods, but in reality, consolidating local political and business ties and legal identity.
5. Conclusion: The New Face of Transnational Gangs
Today's Beng Ya Ju is no longer just the "chopper boss" of the 90s, but a gray power center built on "cultural exchange, digital economy, and national identity." His network uses patriotic narratives, technological packaging, and legal disguises to expand globally, far surpassing traditional gang models.
The murder of Guo Congyuan and the expansion of Hongmen may just be the tip of the iceberg. The Philippines, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Uganda, South Africa... These countries and regions are becoming the testing grounds for a new type of transnational Chinese criminal network. The true nature of the "Beng Ya Ju Empire" is yet to be revealed.
