A study by the United States Institute of Peace reveals. Starting in 2021, the growing influence of criminal groups affects the population and the national security of the different States. For experts, greater coordination between Beijing and Washington is necessary. Criminal networks have a turnover of 64 billion dollars.
Bangkok () – A report by the United States Institute of Peace (Usip) analyzes the origin and size of transnational criminal networks, mostly of Chinese origin, that use information technologies for their activities, which are expanding globally. To the point that, as of 2021, the growing influence of underworld groups has come to directly threaten the safety of people and pose a growing threat to the national security of many countries, including the United States.
“Organized crime is one of the main drivers of conflicts on a global scale. It takes advantage of the weakness of authorities, careless application of the law and inadequate regulations. It destroys the social fabric by strengthening and enriching armed groups and fueling violent conflicts. In Asia, criminal groups support corrupt and dangerous regimes, from Myanmar to North Korea, becoming an immediate threat to regional stability,” reads the final report of the High-Level Study Group of the Usip on Transnational Organized Crime in Southeast Asia. It also highlights how “these criminal networks use their power and influence to develop cybercrime hubs in the region, mainly concentrated in Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, but involving most other nations in their fraudulent operations and initiatives.”
The experts’ work once again highlights “how criminal groups use advanced technology, how they take control of weak and corrupt governments, how they illegally traffic the people they exploit and use torture to pressure victims to operate in illegal companies, how they clean up stolen funds and how they try to disguise their crimes.
Containment and combat efforts would require – it is emphasized – a global approach that addresses the causes, effects, geographical scope and operational methods of criminal actions, because a different approach for each country would be a failure, given the capacity of the criminal groups to move across borders and escape the law. That is why he points out the need for coordination between the United States and China, as the biggest victims of this “industry”, so as not to leave more loopholes for criminal networks.
The report first highlights the damage that the situation in Southeast Asia poses for the United States. For example, it is estimated that American and Canadian citizens have lost $3 billion and $350 million, respectively, to scams and fraud originating in this region of Asia. The arrest of four individuals living in the United States, allegedly responsible for laundering $80 million through fraudulent online companies, confirmed that the groups also operate outside their area of origin. Noting that American citizens are currently the most exposed to financial criminal activity, the Department of Justice in Washington underscored that online scams could soon join the spread of fentanyl among the top risks posed by aggressive Chinese criminal networks. Globally, scams earned criminal networks an estimated $64 billion last year, of which $43 billion was in Southeast Asia, equivalent to 40% of the combined GDP of Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos.
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