Thailand court orders extradition of alleged online gambling kingpin to China

An appeals court in Thailand has approved the extradition to China of She Zhijiang, an alleged transnational crime kingpin accused by Beijing of having run more than 200 illegal online gambling operations.

The Chinese national is perhaps the most prominent figure among Asia’s alleged cybercrime operators to be arrested, although China has arrested and sentenced to death major scam organisers.

She – who US and British governments had imposed sanctions on for alleged criminal activities – was arrested in Bangkok in August 2022 on a 2014 arrest warrant from China’s police. He is currently in the Thai capital’s Klong Prem Central Prison.

She’s legal team had challenged the constitutionality of Thailand extradition law, but that was rejected last month. Monday’s ruling calls for him to be sent to China within 90 days.

Cybercrime has flourished in Southeast Asia where law enforcement is weak, especially in Cambodia and Myanmar. Casinos especially have been havens for criminal activity, and became notorious as centres for online scamming activity when the Covid-19 pandemic hampered in-person gambling.

According to a statement from the office of Thailand’s attorney general, Chinese authorities accused She of establishing 239 illegal online gambling websites, and he was also linked to illegal online gambling networks and casinos in Myanmar.

She became prominent in the region when he developed the Yatai New City project in Myanmar’s Shwe Kokko city, a complex near the Thai border that is notorious for cyberscam activities and human trafficking.

A 2024 report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime said She “is known to have a robust business and investment portfolio across Southeast Asia, and particularly Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and the Philippines, spanning industries including real estate, construction, entertainment and blockchain technology”.