In the second of a two-part series on KK Park, a cyber-crime hub in Karen State’s Myawaddy on the border with Thailand, The Irrawaddy examines documentary evidence linking the leadership of the Karen National Union to the project, and looks at the Chinese crime syndicates it has teamed up with to operate the criminal enterprise. You can read Part 1 here.
Contracts related to KNU
The Irrawaddy has obtained documents related to the KK Park project including the land lease agreement, photographs of original business contracts and photocopies, among others.
The land lease agreement for the initial operation between Mulaei Alin Co. and Tran-Asia International Holding Group (Thailand) Co. Ltd. was initiated on Feb. 17, 2020.
In the contract, Mulaei Alin Co. is listed as a “company being owned by the KNU organization”, while Tran-Asia International Holding Group (Thailand) is listed as a subsidiary of Huanya Holding Group.
The land lease contract names Saw Win Kyaw as Mulaei Alin Co.’s managing director and Saw Kyaw Thu as the company’s director. From the Tran-Asia International Holding Group Company, it names Naija Moosawan, a 56-year-old Thai national.
Naija Moosawan is “Huanya International Holding Group’s responsible representative lessee,” the contract states.
In that agreement, Saw Win Kyaw and Saw Kyaw Thu from Mulaei Alin Co.’s side signed as the lessor, and Naija Moosawan signed as the lessee on behalf of Tran-Asia International Holding Group.
Current KNU President Pado Saw Kwe Htoo Win and former KNU Defense Department Head Saw Roger Khin signed as witnesses for the lessor’s side, on behalf of the KNU Finance Committee (Central).
As witnesses for the lessee’s side, Chinese nationals Lin Pok Kan and Chan Qi Ming signed the land lease on behalf of Tran-Asia International Holding Group.
The leased land measures 100 acres (40 hectares) and the contract is valid for 30 years from the date of signing.
The lease is for 3,500 Thai baht per acre each year and Bt3.5 million per 100 acres annually. The lessee promises to pay Bt1.75 million (about US$47,730 at current rates) every six months. In addition, the security maintenance fee for 30 acres is set at Bt500,000 per month, and the fee will increase as the project area expands. Security must be provided by the KNU.
Renewed lease agreement
Over two years after the initial draft of the 17-point land lease agreement was signed, a revised contract for the KK Park new city project was signed on May 8, 2022.
In that contract, it is stated that Troth Star Company and Tran-Asia International Holding Group signed the new lease agreement on the understanding that the previous agreement signed on May 8, 2022 was automatically void due to “incompleteness”.
The revised agreements under the new contract are signed by Troth Star Company and Tran-Asia International Group instead of Mulaei Alin Co.
In the new contract, U Aye Lwin, as the managing director of Troth Star Company, signed as the landowner, and Naija Moosawan signed as the lessee on behalf of Tran-Asia International Holding Group.
U Aye Lwin is currently serving in the KNU under the name Colonel Saw Nay Min Lwin. He is a close aide and security team member of the former KNU President, General Saw Mutu Say Poe, and is married to his sister. He was promoted from the rank of colonel to brigadier general on Feb. 20, 2023, at the KNU Congress assembly.
The new contract, covering 76 acres, requires the lessee to pay Bt10 million per year.
The rent will increase by Bt1 million every three years, up to five times, totaling Bt14 million annually from May 2022 to May 2037.
KK Park and China’s Shwe Kokko ‘new city’ project
While some organizations and news reports conflate the KK Park Project and the Shwe Kokko Project, they are about 24 km apart, with KK Park located south of Myawaddy town and Shwe Kokko to the north.
Both projects are home to serious criminal activities such as online financial fraud, human trafficking and torture.
The Shwe Kokko project was implemented with the agreement of Border Guard Force (BGF) leader Colonel Saw Chit Thu and She Zhijiang, who is wanted by the Chinese government due to his involvement in illegal online gambling operations.
She Zhijiang is also reported to have ties to KK Park, and is the subject of an Interpol red notice for his involvement in illegal gambling businesses as well as criminal syndicates.
He was arrested on Aug. 10, 2022 in Bangkok, Thailand, and is set to be handed over to the Chinese government.
KK Park and Chinese crime syndicates
On Aug. 18, 2019, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen announced measures against online gambling businesses in the country, with the policy taking effect on Jan. 1, 2020.
It led to the closure of many casinos in Sihanoukville, Cambodia’s coastal casino city. In the aftermath, tens of thousands of Chinese citizens have gone to Myanmar and the Philippines, according to Cambodian media.
The land lease agreement for the initial operation for the KK Park project between Mulaei Alin Co. and Tran-Asia International Holding Group (Thailand) Company Ltd was initiated on Feb. 17, 2020.
Notably, the signing date of the contract is a mere seven months subsequent to the Cambodian government’s announcement regarding its crackdown on online gambling enterprises.
In July 2020, a report from the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) shed light on the involvement of two investors in the KK Park project: individuals associated with Huanya International Holdings Group and the Sihanoukville Chinese Business Association.
Among these investors are Chen An and Zhang Zhiyong, both actively engaged in cryptocurrency ventures and investments in real estate and casinos in Sihanoukville.
Chen holds positions as chairman of the Chinese Business Association in Sihanoukville and is a senior figure in the China Commerce in Cambodia Association (CCCA).
Wan Kuok-koi or ‘Broken Tooth Koi’
According to the USIP report, the KK Park project, the Saixigang Industrial Zone project and the Shwe Kokko new city project have all been linked to Chinese criminal syndicates.
It also stated that the main individuals behind the operations include 14k Triad crime group leader Wan Kuok-koi (or “Broken Tooth Koi”), who is known to have committed crimes such as drug smuggling, money laundering and running online gambling operations in Southeast Asia and the United States, and She Zhijiang, who is the main investor in the Shwe Kokko new city project and is wanted by the Chinese government.
At the end of 2020, the United States government blacklisted and sanctioned Wan, who is also the president of the Dongmei Group, citing his involvement in the Saixigang Industrial Zone Project.
Due to the many gambling and homicide cases in Sihanoukville, and the government’s interference in their operations, they migrated to the Thai-Myanmar border’s Golden Triangle area and the KNU controlled areas, experts said.
