Drugs Crime and Terrorism
Inflection Point: Global Implications of Scam Centres, Underground Banking and Illicit Online Marketplaces in Southeast Asia
Transnational organized crime in Southeast Asia is evolving faster than at any previous point in history. This was first observed in the shift to synthetic drug production and particularly methamphetamine in Shan State Myanmar with supply surging to record levels year on year over the past decade. Less visible however was a more complex and far-reaching parallel shift that has fundamentally reshaped the regional threat landscape and criminal ecosystem. This transformation has been marked by the proliferation of industrial scale cyber-enabled fraud and scam centres driven by sophisticated transnational syndicates and interconnected networks of money launderers human traffickers data brokers and a growing number of other specialist service providers and facilitators. This report presents information trends and data points that have not previously been pieced together representing a unique attempt to improve situational awareness about the intensifying global impacts and implications of the present situation recognizing that the international community now stands at a critical inflection point. Failure to address this self-sustaining ecosystem will have unprecedented consequences for Southeast Asia that reverberate globally as Asian crime syndicates continue to reinvest professionalize and integrate advanced technologies and capabilities allowing them to evolve into becoming more sophisticated cyber threat actors. The study provides recommendations to improve knowledge awareness policy capacity and coordination and aims to serve as a foundation for accelerated solutions and deeper engagement between countries in Southeast Asia and their international partners.
Acknowledgements
Preparation of this report would not have been possible without data information and intelligence shared by governments of East and Southeast Asia international partners and other organizations.
Conclusion and recommendations
Transnational organized crime in Southeast Asia is evolving at a rate the region has never seen before.
Executive summary
Transnational organized crime in Southeast Asia is evolving faster than at any previous point in history.
Explanatory note
Reference to dollars ($) are to United States dollars unless otherwise stated. Reference to tons are to metric tons unless otherwise stated.
Report development and analysis
The present report is part of a growing body of threat analyses conducted by UNODC on transnational organized crime in Southeast Asia.
Foreword
By its resolution 1814 (XVII) of 18 December 1962 the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to publish a Juridical Yearbook which would include certain documentary materials of a legal character concerning the United Nations and related intergovernmental organizations and by its resolution 3006 (XXVII) of 18 December 1972 the General Assembly made certain changes in the outline of the Yearbook. The present volume which is the fifty-fifth of the series has been prepared by the Codification Division of the Office of Legal Affairs.
United Nations Juridical Yearbook 2017
Pursuant to resolution 1814 (XVII) of 18 December 1962 the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to publish a juridical yearbook which would include certain documentary materials of a legal character concerning the United Nations and related intergovernmental organizations as presented in an outline annexed to the resolution. The United Nations Juridical Yearbook has since been published on an annual basis reviewing legal developments starting from 1963. In 1972 the General Assembly further refined the publication’s outline which since then has been made up of three substantive parts divided into eight chapters covering different legal themes together with a fourth part containing an extensive bibliography.
Definitions and conceptual framework
IIFs are ‘financial flows that are illicit in origin transfer or use that reflect an exchange of value and that cross-country borders.’
Acknowledgements
The development of this publication was led by the Research and Trend Analysis Branch Division of Policy Analysis and Public Aff airs United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime under the supervision of Angela Me Chief of the Branch.