Myanmar junta’s spokesman Major General Zaw Min Tun has told China’s state-run Phoenix Television that corrupt officials in the country had taken bribes from Chinese online criminal gangs when asked if the regime was involved in the cyber scams China is intent on eliminating.
In an interview in Naypyitaw on October 23 and published in the junta’s newspapers, Major General Zaw Min Tun admitted that bribery of Myanmar’s civil service could have allowed the online fraud gangs to become established. He said corrupt officials would be prosecuted under the Cybercrime Law.
Min Aung Hlaing and Chinese envoy Deng Xijuan agreed to enhance cooperation to curb online gambling and scams in Naypyidaw on October 15. But Zaw Min Tun admitted the involvement of officials in Myanmar with online fraud.
He mainly blamed Chinese criminals and ethnic armed groups in Myanmar for the cybercrime.
The general said the scams operated from the self-governing Wa, Mongla, and Kokang areas of northern Shan State and the regime had extradited cybercriminals arrested in Kokang back to China.
The spokesman said the regime was committed to breaking the networks by the end of the year.
Zaw Min Tun also blamed the Chinese government, saying: “Everything the Wa and Mongla leaders possess has been transformed into assets on the Chinese side. The money they generate from online gambling is probably kept in their hands. People in Kunming and other Chinese cities could tell you more about their properties and businesses.”
Zaw Min Tun four times called on Beijing to cooperate with Myanmar’s regime in pressuring the Wa and Mongla authorities to allow access to junta police, immigration and customs officials.
He was speaking before Operation 1027 was launched by the Brotherhood Alliance across northern Shan State, targeting junta strongholds.
The rebel armies involved said one of the objectives of the operation was to suppress online scams operating along the Chinese border.
The junta’s defense minister Admiral Tin Aung San this week met China’s Central Military Commission vice-chair General Zhang Youxia in Beijing to discuss border security. Wang Xiaohong of China’s state council also visited Naypyitaw to meet Min Aung Hlaing and discussed online fraud and other cybercrimes.
