Julian Morgans

But all the tourists disappeared in 2020, leading to a massive revenue drop for the casino owners. So they started looking around for new ways to make money. At the same time, the pandemic made a lot of people across Southeast Asia unemployed.

But all the tourists disappeared in 2020, leading to a massive revenue drop for the casino owners. So they started looking around for new ways to make money. At the same time, the pandemic made a lot of people across Southeast Asia unemployed.

Thousands of foreign workers, many of them previously involved in the gambling industry, they were laid off, which made them much more vulnerable to exploitation. But here's the clincher, and you might remember this. During lockdown, we all started buying stuff online. Digital payment systems, e-commerce companies, cryptocurrencies, they all boomed.

Thousands of foreign workers, many of them previously involved in the gambling industry, they were laid off, which made them much more vulnerable to exploitation. But here's the clincher, and you might remember this. During lockdown, we all started buying stuff online. Digital payment systems, e-commerce companies, cryptocurrencies, they all boomed.

You might remember that the price of Bitcoin went through the roof. And Asian crime groups realized that they could scam people by leveraging these technologies. Not just in Asia, but around the world. But it wasn't just about scamming people online.

You might remember that the price of Bitcoin went through the roof. And Asian crime groups realized that they could scam people by leveraging these technologies. Not just in Asia, but around the world. But it wasn't just about scamming people online.

To run these operations, they needed workers, so they started offering young, educated, multilingual people, often from these really struggling areas, to come into these empty casinos to run scams. It's thought that this model first emerged in Singapore and the Philippines, but it wasn't long until a group in Taiwan had the bright idea of bringing in people to work, but then just not paying them.

To run these operations, they needed workers, so they started offering young, educated, multilingual people, often from these really struggling areas, to come into these empty casinos to run scams. It's thought that this model first emerged in Singapore and the Philippines, but it wasn't long until a group in Taiwan had the bright idea of bringing in people to work, but then just not paying them.

And really, it was slavery that made this industry explode. Taiwanese crime groups adopted slavery, and then the others followed. And from there, scamming became stupidly, irrepressibly lucrative. These days, the UN estimates that farm operators in Southeast Asia alone steal up to $36 billion annually, which is around the same turnover as the US oil giant Chevron.

And really, it was slavery that made this industry explode. Taiwanese crime groups adopted slavery, and then the others followed. And from there, scamming became stupidly, irrepressibly lucrative. These days, the UN estimates that farm operators in Southeast Asia alone steal up to $36 billion annually, which is around the same turnover as the US oil giant Chevron.

So imagine, Asian scammer farm operators now have the resources at the scale of an American oil company. That's where we are now. That's the scale of this thing. But when I asked Judah about who runs these scammer farms exactly, he was reluctant to give me a definitive answer. So first of all, this Chinese crime organization, you know, who's at the top of this pyramid? Who are these guys?

So imagine, Asian scammer farm operators now have the resources at the scale of an American oil company. That's where we are now. That's the scale of this thing. But when I asked Judah about who runs these scammer farms exactly, he was reluctant to give me a definitive answer. So first of all, this Chinese crime organization, you know, who's at the top of this pyramid? Who are these guys?

He's right. The industry's opaque management structure is by design. But still, we do know some loose things about who owns the scammer farms. For example, we know that KK Park was the first one to be built in Myanmar, and I've talked about this place in episode 2.

He's right. The industry's opaque management structure is by design. But still, we do know some loose things about who owns the scammer farms. For example, we know that KK Park was the first one to be built in Myanmar, and I've talked about this place in episode 2.

It's actually the scammer farm that we feature on our podcast cover, and its origin story helps to illustrate how these places are bankrolled and managed. So according to a big investigation by the German state media company DW, the seed capital for KK Park came from a Chinese triad, which is a pretty notorious criminal organization.

It's actually the scammer farm that we feature on our podcast cover, and its origin story helps to illustrate how these places are bankrolled and managed. So according to a big investigation by the German state media company DW, the seed capital for KK Park came from a Chinese triad, which is a pretty notorious criminal organization.

At the top is a guy named Wan Kwok Khoi, also known as Broken Tooth. And this guy is a big deal in the Chinese underworld. But he's also involved in China's Belt and Road Initiative, or the BRI, which is this huge infrastructure effort to increase China's global footprint. Then the next party involved in KK Park's management is a medley of military groups in Myanmar.

At the top is a guy named Wan Kwok Khoi, also known as Broken Tooth. And this guy is a big deal in the Chinese underworld. But he's also involved in China's Belt and Road Initiative, or the BRI, which is this huge infrastructure effort to increase China's global footprint. Then the next party involved in KK Park's management is a medley of military groups in Myanmar.

Now, the compound is in a region that's run by a military group that's kind of like the state government, and they're called the Karen National Union. And they run this area, this sort of state, with another group called the Karen National Liberation Army. And the leaders from these two groups, they actually attended the opening ceremony of KK Park in 2021.

Now, the compound is in a region that's run by a military group that's kind of like the state government, and they're called the Karen National Union. And they run this area, this sort of state, with another group called the Karen National Liberation Army. And the leaders from these two groups, they actually attended the opening ceremony of KK Park in 2021.