She Zhijiang: From Shwe Kokko Kingpin to Klong Prem Prison

Shadowy tycoon reportedly spent $15 billion to build notorious Myanmar scam town, before falling victim to China’s crackdown

Thailand cut off electricity supplies to Myanmar on Wednesday, targeting a Chinese-run transnational crime syndicate known as 14K. Despite being blacklisted by the United States and Britain, the syndicate has managed to establish businesses in Thailand and over the border in Myanmar.

Its largest project is thought to be Shwe Kokko (or “Shwe Kokko Yatai"), a new city developed by Yatai International Holding Group (Yatai IHG), a Hong Kong-registered company.  YIHG is owned by She Zhijiang, who is currently in prison in Bangkok awaiting extradition to China as part of its crackdown on Shwe Kokko, a notorious hub of call centre fraud, illegal online gambling outfits, money laundering and human trafficking.

Yatai IHG established the Shwe Kokko special economic zone in 2018 with an investment of around US$15 billion (525 billion baht).  

She Zhijiang, born in 1982 in Shaodong, Hunan Province, China, moved to the Philippines at the age of 20 to establish a gambling business.

In 2014, the Yantai Economic Development Court in Shandong Province, China, ruled that he had been illegally operating an online lottery business in the Philippines. His illicit ventures reportedly generated over $298 million in profits, primarily from Chinese victims, making him a wanted man in China.In 2015, She Zhijiang expanded his online gambling business, establishing strongholds in Cambodia, Myanmar, and Thailand.

By 2017, he obtained Cambodian citizenship, changed his name to "She Krieng Khai", and registered Yatai International Holdings Group (Yatai IHG) in Hong Kong, though its headquarters was in Bangkok. Yatai IHG launched the Shwe Kokko project in Myawaddy, partnering with the Border Guard Force (BGF), a Karen armed group led by Chit Thu, a local warlord who controlled the area.

In 2019, Cambodia cracked down on online gambling, call-centre scams, and casinos, forcing Chinese criminal syndicates to shift their operations to Myanmar. The Myanmar government had previously monitored their activities, but enforcement stalled following the 2021 military coup.

She Zhijiang reportedly has connections with influential figures in the Thai town of Mae Sot, over the border from Shwe Kokko. He once pushed for the construction of a Shwe Kokko-Mae Sot twin city project, but the plan was abandoned. In 2022, he even testified before Thailand’s House of Representatives Committee on moves to legalise casinos. 

She Zhijiang reportedly has ties to the 14K syndicate and co-invested in the development of KK Park with Wan Kok Koi, also known as "Broken Tooth", a figure identified by the US Treasury Department as a major underworld leader and illicit business operator. Wan Kok Koi has previously attempted to establish a cultural association in Thailand.

She Zhijiang was arrested in Thailand on August 12, 2022, under an Interpol red notice for allegedly defrauding foreign nationals in multiple countries. He is currently imprisoned at Klong Prem Central Prison.

On May 25, 2023, the Thai Criminal Court ordered She Zhijiang to be extradited to China to face charges of illegally operating casinos. He appealed the ruling and even recorded a video from prison, which was circulated on TikTok, claiming to be the victim of politically motivated charges and alleging inhumane treatment by the prison. His appeal against extradition is currently being reviewed by the Court of Appeal.

(2025/02/07-00:00)