The story of the fall of the Min family, which turned a city in Myanmar into a 'scam factory'
China has executed 11 members of the Min family, described by state media as a notorious mafia group that operated fraudulent operations on Myanmar's northeastern border. In September, a court in Zhejiang Province convicted them of a range of crimes, including murder, false imprisonment, fraud, and operating an underground gambling operation.
The Min family was one of many groups that controlled the town of Laukkai (Laukkaing), and over time, they transformed the impoverished border town into a ostentatious hub of casinos and sex industry districts. Their fraudulent empire collapsed in 2023, when, amid escalating conflict between ethnic armed groups and the Myanmar army, the town fell under the control of ethnic militias. The clan members were subsequently detained and handed over to China.
The executions should serve as a deterrent to potential organizers of such schemes. Meanwhile, the business itself has reportedly shifted to Myanmar's border with Thailand, as well as to Cambodia and Laos, where China's influence is noticeably weaker.
The UN estimates that hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked to work in online scams in Myanmar and other Southeast Asian countries. Among them are thousands of Chinese citizens, and the main victims, from whom scammers swindle billions of dollars, are also predominantly Chinese.
Beijing was irritated by the Myanmar military's refusal to stop a fraudulent operation from which they were almost certainly profiting. In late 2023, China tacitly supported an offensive by an alliance of ethnic rebel groups in Shan State: the alliance captured significant territory and took Laukkai, an important border town.
These 11 individuals were the first leaders of Myanmar's fraudulent centers to be executed in China, but they will not be the last. Five members of the Bai family were also sentenced to death in November , and the trials of two other groups of defendants from the Wei and Liu families are still ongoing.
The Min family's trial was held behind closed doors, although more than 160 people, including relatives of the victims, were allowed to attend the sentencing last year. According to China's highest court, the clan's fraudulent operations and underground gambling operations generated over 10 billion yuan between 2015 and 2023, and their crimes resulted in the deaths of 14 Chinese citizens and injuries to many others. In November, the highest court rejected the appeals.
In September, more than 20 members of the Min family received prison sentences ranging from five years to life. The patriarch of the Min clan, Xuechang, committed suicide in 2023 while attempting to evade capture, according to the Myanmar military. Confessions from those detained were broadcast in state media documentaries, highlighting the Chinese authorities' determination to root out fraudulent networks.
The Min family was one of several clan groups that gained strength in Laukkai in the early 2000s, following the ouster of the local military leader in an operation led by Min Aung Hlaing, who became the head of the military government in Myanmar following the 2021 coup. Min Xuechan ran one of Laukkai's most notorious scam centers, Crouching Tiger Villa. Initially, gambling and prostitution were the main sources of income for these families, but they later shifted to online fraud, where the bulk of the work was done by kidnapped people forced to participate in the schemes. Within the large, well-guarded complexes, according to released workers, a culture of violence existed, and beatings and torture were commonplace.
China has executed 11 members of the Min family, described by state media as a notorious mafia group that operated fraudulent operations on Myanmar's northeastern border. In September, a court in Zhejiang Province convicted them of a range of crimes, including murder, false imprisonment, fraud, and operating an underground gambling operation.
The Min family was one of many groups that controlled the town of Laukkai (Laukkaing), and over time, they transformed the impoverished border town into a ostentatious hub of casinos and sex industry districts. Their fraudulent empire collapsed in 2023, when, amid escalating conflict between ethnic armed groups and the Myanmar army, the town fell under the control of ethnic militias. The clan members were subsequently detained and handed over to China.
The executions should serve as a deterrent to potential organizers of such schemes. Meanwhile, the business itself has reportedly shifted to Myanmar's border with Thailand, as well as to Cambodia and Laos, where China's influence is noticeably weaker.
The UN estimates that hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked to work in online scams in Myanmar and other Southeast Asian countries. Among them are thousands of Chinese citizens, and the main victims, from whom scammers swindle billions of dollars, are also predominantly Chinese.
Beijing was irritated by the Myanmar military's refusal to stop a fraudulent operation from which they were almost certainly profiting. In late 2023, China tacitly supported an offensive by an alliance of ethnic rebel groups in Shan State: the alliance captured significant territory and took Laukkai, an important border town.
These 11 individuals were the first leaders of Myanmar's fraudulent centers to be executed in China, but they will not be the last. Five members of the Bai family were also sentenced to death in November , and the trials of two other groups of defendants from the Wei and Liu families are still ongoing.
The Min family's trial was held behind closed doors, although more than 160 people, including relatives of the victims, were allowed to attend the sentencing last year. According to China's highest court, the clan's fraudulent operations and underground gambling operations generated over 10 billion yuan between 2015 and 2023, and their crimes resulted in the deaths of 14 Chinese citizens and injuries to many others. In November, the highest court rejected the appeals.
In September, more than 20 members of the Min family received prison sentences ranging from five years to life. The patriarch of the Min clan, Xuechang, committed suicide in 2023 while attempting to evade capture, according to the Myanmar military. Confessions from those detained were broadcast in state media documentaries, highlighting the Chinese authorities' determination to root out fraudulent networks.
The Min family was one of several clan groups that gained strength in Laukkai in the early 2000s, following the ouster of the local military leader in an operation led by Min Aung Hlaing, who became the head of the military government in Myanmar following the 2021 coup. Min Xuechan ran one of Laukkai's most notorious scam centers, Crouching Tiger Villa. Initially, gambling and prostitution were the main sources of income for these families, but they later shifted to online fraud, where the bulk of the work was done by kidnapped people forced to participate in the schemes. Within the large, well-guarded complexes, according to released workers, a culture of violence existed, and beatings and torture were commonplace.
