A five-star hotel and casino that had exclusive rights to a tropical island off the southern tip of mainland Myanmar shut down this month after an arrest warrant was issued in Thailand for its owner, U Kyaw Lwin.
The Grand Andaman Hotel on Thahtay Kyun Island in Tanintharyi Region’s Kawthaung Township has exclusive use of the 1,800-acre island. It offers an array of gaming rooms, spas, karaoke lounges and beauty salons and employed more than 1,500 people, including Myanmar nationals, before it shut.
“The hotel has closed as of this month. We don’t know when it will reopen,” said one employee. Others said Myanmar businessmen often visited the resort to gamble.
The island is located near the Thai coastal town of Rangong, but it is on the Myanmar side of the border. Both Thai and foreign nationals were able to access the resort without having to get a visa to enter Myanmar, according to the hotel’s website and online travel guides.
The arrest warrant followed a crackdown by Thailand’s Department of Special Investigation (DSI) on the “Kofuk” network, which it said laundered money from online gambling. Raids were carried out in 27 locations in Thailand, including Bangkok and Ranong.
U Kyaw Lwin’s home is Ranong was reportedly searched.
The DSI said it issued arrest warrants for 18 businessmen for illegal online gambling, unlicensed fuel exports, tax fraud and possession of illicit money. However, it did not name the suspects.
The DSI said the network uses the results of the state lottery in Thailand as well as those from other countries to encourage people to gamble online. The initial investigation found that more than 1 billion baht (US$ 28 million) was circulating in the system, the DSI said.
The network also committed tax fraud by creating false records for fuel exports and applying for tax refunds, the DSI said, adding that it had been operating for more than 10 years and caused the state to lose 10 billion baht in unrealized taxes.
The DSI seized luxury cars, gold jewelry, and luxury brand products during the raids.
Its deputy director-general, Yutthana Praedam, told Thai media that seven of the 18 suspects have been arrested.
“The hotel owner, the main culprit, has not yet been arrested. But one of his assistants and his wife were arrested,” he said.
Yutthana did not identify the hotel owner by name but described him as a Myanmar national who holds Thai citizenship, and said he had fled to Myanmar. He also said the Kofuk network is involved in fuel smuggling.
U Kyaw Lwin has a near monopoly over the fuel market in Kawthaung Township. He imports fuel from Ranong province. Previously, he established a coal-fired power plant to supply electricity to Kawthaung Township. He also has interests in many other businesses, including rubber production, prawn breeding and fishing.
One businessman from Tanintharyi Region said fuel imported through Kawthaung is more expensive than that bought from Yangon’s Petroleum Trade Association, but there is no quota on the amount purchased. “We can’t buy as much fuel as we want from the Petroleum Trade Association [because] they only sell by quota. We can buy as much as from Kawthaung though it is more expensive. The price is 500 to 1,000 kyats higher per liter,” he explained.
Local residents fear that the warrant is likely to impact the fuel market in Kawthaung and say Kawthaung Town is already running short of 95 Octane gas.
Kawthaung Township is home to an industrial-scale offshore fishing fleet that runs on gas or diesel. The reference price set by the regime’s fuel import and distribution committee in Tanintharyi Region’s Dawei was 2,960 kyats per liter for 95 Octane gas on Monday.
