China executes 11 Myanmar mafia family scammers

China has executed 11 members of a notorious Myanmar mafia family that was infamous for duping victims in fake online romances. 

The Ming crime family was sentenced to death in September by a court in the eastern Chinese city of Wenzhou, with the same court also carrying out the executions on Thursday. 

Residents in the UK and the US have fallen victim to similar, sophisticated schemes, after being lured into romantic relationships that resulted in the loss of large amounts of cash. 

The clan members were executed for crimes including 'intentional homicide, intentional injury, unlawful detention, fraud and casino establishment', according to news agency Xinhua. 

The death sentences were approved by the Supreme People's Court in Beijing, which found that the evidence produced of crimes committed since 2015 was 'conclusive and sufficient'.

The 'Ming family criminal group' had contributed to the deaths of 14 Chinese citizens and injuries to 'many others', according to local media. 

'The criminals' close relatives were allowed to meet with them before the execution,' Xinhua added. 

Ming Xuechang, the head of the clan who allegedly took his own life in 2023 to avoid capture, ran one of the most infamous of Laukkaing's scam centres, Crouching Tiger Villa. 

Their empire of crime came crashing down in 2023 after they were detained and handed over to Chinese authorities by ethnic militias that had taken power in the town of Laukkaing amid rising conflicts with Myanmar's army. 

Under Chinese law, criminals sentenced to death are executed either by firing squad or lethal injection. 

As part of its own effort to combat online fraud, the UK government last October sanctioned a different network that also operates scam centres in Southeast Asia, and has several assets in London.

The leader of that group, Chen Zhi, and his web of enablers, had incorporated their businesses in the British Virgin Islands and invested in the London property market, acquiring assets including a £12 million mansion on Avenue Road in north London, a £100 million office building on Fenchurch Street in the City of London, and seventeen flats on New Oxford Street and in Nine Elms in south London.

All of the businesses and properties were frozen, as part of the government's attempt to clampdown on scam centres which trick victims across the world out of substantial sums of money and torture their trafficked workers.

The execution in China came as Sir Keir Starmer met with Chinese president Xi Jinping in Beijing, where the British prime minister said he raised the country's human rights record.

Starmer said when asked if the issue of human rights and of the prosecution of British citizen and pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai had been raised: 'We did have a respectful discussion about that, raised those issues as you would expect. 

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'It gives us great opportunities, but it also gives us the opportunity to have those discussions about areas where we disagree.'

Fraud compounds where scammers lure internet users into fake romantic relationships and cryptocurrency investments have flourished across Southeast Asia, including in the lawless borderlands of Myanmar.

Initially largely targeting Chinese speakers, the criminal groups behind the compounds have expanded operations into multiple languages to steal from victims around the world.

Those conducting the scams are sometimes willing con artists, and other times trafficked foreign nationals forced to work.

In recent years, Beijing has stepped up cooperation with regional governments to crack down on the compounds, and thousands of people have been repatriated to face trial in China's opaque justice system.

Fraud operations centred in Myanmar's border regions have extracted billions of dollars from around the world through phone and internet scams.

Experts say most of the centres are run by Chinese-led crime syndicates working with Myanmar militias.

The fraud activities and crackdowns by Beijing are closely followed in China.

The executions are designed to send a message of deterrence to would-be scammers, but the business has now moved to Myanmar's border with Thailand, and to Cambodia and Laos - areas where China has much less influence.

The eleven members of the notorious mafia family are the first of the Myanmar scam bosses to be executed by China, but they will not be the last. 

The September rulings that resulted in Thursday's executions also included death sentences with two-year reprieves to five other individuals.

Another 23 suspects were given prison sentences ranging from five years to life.

In November, Chinese authorities sentenced five people to death for their involvement in scam operations in Myanmar's Kokang region.

Their crimes had led to the deaths of six Chinese nationals, according to state media reports.

Despite the fact that the Ming family's trial was held behind closed doors, an audience of more than 160 people were allowed to attend the sentencing hearing last year, including families of victims. 

Between 2015 and 2023, the Ming mafia's scam operations and gambling dens brought in more than 10bn yuan (£1 billion).

Previously, the main source of income for such families was prostitution and gambling, but then they eventually got involved with online fraud and used kidnapped workers to run their scams. 

According to the testimony of freed staff, beatings and torture were commonplace within the mafia's sprawling and well-guarded compounds. 

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime warned in April that the cyberscam industry was spreading across the world, including to South America, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and some Pacific Islands.

The UN has estimated that hundreds of thousands of people are working in scam centres globally.

The UK government launched sanctions on illegal scam networks last October alongside the US, to ensure maximum impact.

The joint action followed extensive investigations by the FCDO and the United States’ Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

'The masterminds behind these horrific scam centres are ruining the lives of vulnerable people and buying up London homes to store their money,' Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said.

'Together with our US allies, we are taking decisive action to combat the growing transnational threat posed by this network – upholding human rights, protecting British nationals and keeping dirty money off our streets.' 

Fraud Minister Lord Hanson added: 'Fraudsters prey on the most vulnerable by stealing life savings, ruining trust, and devastating lives. We will not tolerate this. 

'These sanctions prove our determination to stop those who profit from this activity, hold offenders accountable, and keep dirty money out of the UK. 

'Through our new, expanded Fraud Strategy and the upcoming Global Fraud Summit, we will go even further to disrupt corrupt networks and protect the public from shameless criminals.'

Taking place in Vienna between March 16-17,  the Global Fraud Summit will bring together representatives from across governments, law enforcement, the private sector and academia to 'galvanise international action' and deliver 'cross-sector collaboration'.