Criminal networks linked to triads exploit free trade zones amid regional crackdowns on offshore gaming.
Timor-Leste.- A new report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has flagged Timor-Leste as facing a growing risk from organised crime groups using foreign direct investment to set up illegal gambling operations and scam centres. The report cites regulatory gaps in the Special Administrative Region of Oecusse-Ambeno (RAEOA) free trade zone that it says are being exploited to hide illicit activities under the cover of legitimate businesses.
The alert follows a raid by Timor-Leste authorities on August 25 at a hotel in RAEOA. Officials seized SIM cards and Starlink satellite internet devices. UNODC highlights links between companies in Timor-Leste and Cambodian casino networks implicated in money laundering and online fraud.
Analysts warns that criminal syndicates are relocating from traditional hotspots like Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and the Philippines, where governments have conducted crackdowns.
In July 2024, the Philippines banned offshore gaming operations (POGOs). During an October 2024 visit to Timor-Leste, Philippine justice secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla warned that displaced POGOs might target the country as a new base for offshore gaming.
Timor-Leste recently launched its own offshore gaming licensing regime through the Timor-Leste Online Gaming Operator Supervisory (TOGOS, aiming to position the country as a regulated hub for igaming. The first licence went to Golden River Universe (GRU). However, UNODC The agency draws parallels to early developments in the Philippines and Mekong region, where free trade zones became centres for cyber scams, human trafficking, and drug smuggling alongside illicit gambling.
As Timor-Leste prepares to join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in October 2025, UNODC stresses the need for stronger safeguards in its digital and economic systems.
Criminal networks linked to triads exploit free trade zones amid regional crackdowns on offshore gaming. Timor-Leste.- A new report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has…
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