At a recent meeting in Bangkok, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime claimed that transnational organized crime groups are deeply involved in the region's increasingly rampant complex underground banking, money laundering, and illegal online gambling activities.
Masood Karimipour, the representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific at the Office on Drugs and Crime, stated: "Organized crime groups gather at perceived weaknesses, and empowering regional investigators and analysts is central to the Office's strategy to combat these criminals."
Authorities across Southeast Asia have identified hundreds of so-called "scam centers," with thousands of people trafficked into these lucrative illegal industries. More and more criminal groups are using the region as a base of operations, devising complex fraud schemes that have led to billions of dollars in losses.
It is estimated that over 400 such criminal enterprises are operating in the Philippines alone, with many Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) found to be fronts for transnational organized crime groups. This has led to a recent ban on the industry in the Philippines by presidential decree (details of the scope are still not disclosed).
Similar measures have been taken in other parts of the region, including Cambodia, Indonesia, and Thailand, where combating online fraud and illegal online casino operations has been prioritized as a national issue.
However, as law enforcement and regulatory bodies intensify their efforts, organized crime continues to disperse its operations to more remote areas of the region, such as autonomous territories controlled by non-state armed groups and other crime centers.
John Wojcik, a regional analyst at the Office on Drugs and Crime, stated: "The robust transnational crime networks implementing online fraud have developed into a thriving illegal industry worth billions of dollars, now exceeding the GDP of several Southeast Asian countries."
The meeting of regional investigators and analysts has facilitated the formation of an informal network to expand cooperation and share operational results and intelligence.
The Office on Drugs and Crime is also coordinating with regional authorities to step up efforts, including establishing emergency networks.
