Golden Triangle | |
|---|---|
| Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone | |
| Lao transcription(s) | |
| • Lao | ເຂດເສດຖະກິດພິເສດສາມຫຼ່ຽມຄຳ |
| Chinese transcription(s) | |
| • Simplified Chinese | 金三角经济特区 |
 The skyline of Golden Triangle | |
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  Golden Triangle  Golden Triangle  Golden Triangle | |
| Coordinates: 20°20′24″N 100°6′18″E / 20.34000°N 100.10500°E | |
| Country |  Laos |
| Prefecture | Bokeo province |
| Created | 2007 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Special Economic Zone under Lao Government and Hong Kong-registered company Kings Romans Group |
| Time zone | UTC+7 |
The Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (Lao: ເຂດເສດຖະກິດພິເສດສາມຫຼ່ຽມຄຳ, Chinese: 金三角经济特区, abbreviated GTSEZ) is located along the Mekong River in the Ton Pheung District of Bokeo Province in Laos. The zone has an area about 3,000 hectares and was created in 2007 by the Lao government together with the Chinese-owned Hong Kong-registered company Kings Romans Group with the hope of generating economic development.
The zone is dominated by the Kings Romans casino which attracts mostly Chinese visitors, and several hotels. It is part of a wider trend of casinos emerging in the Mekong region following the displacement of money laundering from Macao in 2014.[1]
Since its commencement, it has gained a reputation of being a Chinese city rife with illegal activities such as drug, human and animal trafficking[2][3] although Kings Romans' owner has denied the allegations[4] while Lao authorities have also carried out some enforcement action following the reports.[5] In January 2018, the United States Treasury Department sanctioned Kings Romans, its owner, Zhao Wei, and the "Zhao Wei Transnational Crime Organization," alleging the casino was used to launder money and traffic drugs, among other serious crimes.[6] Despite this, consignments of drugs and precursors still transit near the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone. Seizures of high-grade crystal methamphetamine traced back to the Laos border are up over 200% in 2020 in northeast Thailand, and dozens of large seizures have been made in recent months in Vietnam along its remote and often mountainous 2,100 kilometer (1,300 mile) border with Laos as well.[7] At the same time there are increasing reports of precursor chemicals from across the region going through Laos, destined for autonomous special regions and known drug-producing areas in neighbouring Myanmar.[8] The SEZ is a known base for fraud factories, where global cyber scams are conducted.[9]
- ^ Douglas, Jeremy. "Asian organized crime doubles down on casinos". CNN"date=2019-02-14. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
- ^ Strangio, Sebastian (2016-07-24). "The 'lawless' playgrounds of Laos". Al-Jazeera. Retrieved 2019-07-28.
- ^ Parry, Simon (2018-04-14). "A Mr Big of wildlife trafficking: could elusive Laos casino operator be behind rackets that run to drugs, child prostitution?". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2019-07-28.
- ^ "Kings Romans Chairman Holds Press Conference on U.S.' Transnational Criminal Accusations". Lao News Agency. 2018-02-08. Retrieved 2019-08-01.
- ^ "Lao authorities close down illegal Golden Triangle wildlife shops". Asia News Channel. 2018-08-06. Retrieved 2019-07-28.
- ^ "Treasury Sanctions the Zhao Wei Transnational Criminal Organization". US Department of the Treasury. 2018-01-30. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
- ^ Douglas, Jeremy (2020-08-20). "Laos is a missing link in Asia's fight against organized crime". CNN. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
- ^ Uhlman, Chris (2020-03-15). "Inside the Golden Triangle, where warlords and drug barons reign". CNN. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
- ^ Kennedy, Lindsey; Paul, Nathan (2022-08-20). "The online scammer targeting you could be trapped in a South-East Asian fraud factory". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2023-03-17.