Thailand has extradited Chinese national She Zhijiang – accused of building one of Southeast Asia’s largest illicit online gambling and scam empires – to China, ending a two-year legal battle over his deportation.
She, who had been detained in Thailand since 2022 following his arrest on a Chinese Interpol warrant, faces charges in China related to the operation of illegal online gambling networks. His extradition was confirmed after a Thai court upheld Beijing’s request earlier this week. The 42-year-old businessman was escorted by security officials from Bangkok to China on Wednesday.
The move coincides with an upcoming state visit by Thailand’s king to Beijing – the first by a reigning Thai monarch – signaling deepening diplomatic cooperation between the two countries.
She Zhijiang has been widely described as one of the most prominent figures linked to the rise of large-scale cyberscam and gambling operations in the region, particularly in areas along the Thai-Myanmar border. His best-known project, the Shwe Kokko New City development in Myanmar’s Karen State, has been cited by rights groups and foreign governments as a hub for online fraud, money laundering, and human trafficking.
Promoted as a luxury resort destination for Chinese investors and tourists, Shwe Kokko is instead alleged to have hosted large-scale scam operations. During a BBC visit earlier this year, locals reported that illicit activities were still ongoing despite international scrutiny. She’s company, Yatai International Holdings Group, has been sanctioned by both the United States and the United Kingdom for alleged involvement in human rights abuses linked to the operation of “scam compounds.”
Speaking from a Thai prison earlier this year, She denied direct involvement in criminal activity, saying his firm “would never accept telecom fraud or scams.” However, he admitted that “scammers may have entered” Shwe Kokko since the area was “completely open to anyone.”
Born in China’s Hunan province in 1982, She left school at 14 and later moved to the Philippines, where he entered the online gambling business in his early 20s. A Chinese court convicted him in 2014 for operating an illegal lottery, but he continued expanding his ventures across Cambodia, Myanmar, and other regional markets. He is also believed to hold both Cambodian and Myanmar citizenship, according to the US Treasury.
The United Nations estimates that hundreds of thousands of people – many of them Chinese nationals – are trapped in scam centers across Southeast Asia, often lured by fake job offers and later forced to conduct online fraud under threat of violence. Beijing has intensified its crackdown on such operations in recent months, with reports of severe sentences, including death penalties, for key organizers.
She’s extradition marks a significant victory for China’s efforts to dismantle transnational gambling and fraud networks that have flourished in neighboring countries amid weak local enforcement and complex jurisdictional boundaries.
