Myanmar scam centres: will Thailand cut their power?

Details: Vaughan O'Grady; Category: Regulation; 05 February 2025; 9275 views

Thailand has said it will suspend electricity supply to some border areas with Myanmar in an effort to curb scam centres.

This is part of an ongoing effort to put pressure on compounds that have not just engaged in fraudulent activities but trapped nationals from a number of countries with promises of jobs and then forced them to be part of illegal cyberwork that is said to generate billions of dollars annually across Southeast Asia.

Indeed UN estimates suggest that hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked by criminal gangs and forced to work in scam centres and illegal online operations across Southeast Asia, including the Thai-Myanmar border.

Thai authorities apparently plan to instruct the Provincial Electricity Authority – which supplies power to these areas – to cut off their power supply.

Myanmar's military government has since October 2023 repatriated more than 55,000 foreigners, mainly Chinese, who were forced to work in scam compounds. Not surprisingly, Thailand wants to allay the safety concerns of visitors from China, but it is also concerned about the impact of scam centres on tourism in general.

Reuters reports that the head of Thailand’s National Security Council has said evidence showed transnational crime syndicates operating in Myanmar's Tachileik, Myawaddy and Payathonzu regions. These, presumably, will be the areas targeted.

We reported in late January that officials from China, Myanmar and Thailand had reached a consensus on eradicating telecommunication fraud centres in Myanmar. Myanmar is also going through a long-running civil war since its military seized power in a coup in February 2021.