She Zhijiang, a Chinese national accused of running over 200 illegal online gambling operations, has been extradited from Thailand to China. The 43-year-old, who also holds a Cambodian passport, was arrested in Bangkok in August 2022 on an international warrant and Interpol red notice requested by Beijing.
Thai police confirmed the extradition on Wednesday, following a criminal court order in May last year and an appeal upheld on Monday. Police Lieutenant General Jirabhop Bhuridej described the suspect as a high priority for China. She is to stand trial for operating illegal casinos and gambling websites, using Myanmar as a base for these operations and money laundering.
She's legal team called the extradition process 'unusual', but did not elaborate. His lawyer Sanya Eadjongdee said She continues to deny any wrongdoing. At the time of his arrest, She headed a gambling empire that included the Shwe Kokko complex, a $15bn casino and entertainment hub on the Thai-Myanmar border.
The US Treasury Department sanctioned nine companies and individuals tied to Shwe Kokko in September for links to regional scam and trafficking networks. The border areas between Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia have become hubs for online fraud since the Covid-19 pandemic, with the UN estimating billions of dollars earned from trafficking hundreds of thousands of people forced to work in these compounds.
On Wednesday, the US imposed financial sanctions on a Myanmar militia group, the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army, for supporting a cyber scam operation targeting Americans. John Hurley, US undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said criminal networks operating from Myanmar are stealing billions from Americans through online scams and trafficking human beings.
