Fugitive Tycoon Behind $15 Billion Myanmar Gambling Hub Extradited to China
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A Chinese fugitive businessman linked to massive online gambling and telecom fraud networks along the Thai-Myanmar border was extradited from Thailand to China on Wednesday night, in a move hailed by Beijing as a milestone in cross-border law enforcement cooperation.
She Zhijiang, a China-born Cambodian citizen behind a $15 billion industrial and entertainment complex in Myanmar called Yatai City, arrived at Nanjing Lukou International Airport aboard a Chinese civil aviation flight, China’s Ministry of Public Security said. Authorities accused She’s criminal syndicate of running online gambling platforms that handled more than 2.7 billion yuan ($379 million) and of sheltering 248 telecom fraud operations within 29 compounds under his Yatai City project.
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- Chinese fugitive She Zhijiang, linked to major online gambling and telecom fraud via Myanmar’s $15 billion Yatai City, was extradited from Thailand to China.
- She’s syndicate allegedly handled $379 million, operated 200+ platforms, and sheltered 248 telecom fraud operations before his 2022 arrest.
- His extradition followed lengthy Thai court proceedings; Chinese police coordinated with Interpol and Thai authorities to dismantle his network across 17 provinces.
- Yatai International Holdings Group
- Yatai International Holdings Group was founded by She Zhijiang in 2013. It developed the "Yatai City" project in Myanmar, which was promoted as a smart industrial city but was actually a front for illegal online gambling and telecom fraud targeting Chinese citizens. The group operated over 200 gambling platforms and was disavowed by the Chinese embassy in Myanmar due to its illicit activities.
- 1982：
- She Zhijiang was born in a poor village in Hunan province, China.
- Late 1990s：
- She Zhijiang went to Manila for business opportunities.
- 2013：
- She Zhijiang founded the Yatai International Holdings Group.
- 2014：
- A Chinese court in Shandong convicted a man named She Zhi Jiang (She Zhijiang) for operating an illegal lottery business in the Philippines targeting Chinese online users.
- 2017：
- She Zhijiang founded the Yatai City project in Myawaddy, Myanmar.
- 2017：
- She Zhijiang obtained Cambodian citizenship and registered Yatai International Holdings.
- 2017：
- She Zhijiang co-hosted a Myanmar-China investment forum and signed the 'Yatai Myawaddy Economic Zone' deal during the World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention in Yangon, Myanmar.
- 2018：
- A profile in CFOCE’s magazine described She Zhijiang as a self-made entrepreneur.
- 2020：
- Caixin conducted an investigation into the Yatai project, exposing it as a refuge for gambling operations.
- By 2020：
- The Myanmar government had launched an investigation into illegal gambling in the Yatai City zone.
- August 2022：
- She Zhijiang was arrested in Thailand on an Interpol Red Notice.
- October 2025：
- Thailand's Constitutional Court ruled that She Zhijiang's extradition complied with Thai law, clearing the way for his transfer.
- November 10, 2025：
- Thailand’s appeals court upheld the lower court’s ruling and ordered She Zhijiang’s extradition within 90 days.
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