Rising from the muddy Mekong riverbanks in northern Laos, the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ) has become infamous as a hotbed of cybercrime, money laundering, and human trafficking — earning comparisons to “Las Vegas in Laos.”
Behind the casino lights and mismatched European-style facades lies a thriving underworld fueling scams worth billions. While the zone was initially pitched as a tourism and urban development project, analysts say it has instead become a nexus for organized crime targeting victims across the globe.
The GTSEZ, established in 2007 when the Lao government granted a 99-year lease to the Chinese-owned Kings Romans Group, was meant to boost local economies and attract tourists with entertainment and gambling. Today, it’s a surreal mix of half-finished high-rises, eerily quiet boulevards, and casinos that stand alongside laundry-draped buildings supposedly meant for tourists.
“It’s a juxtaposition of the grim and the bling,” says Richard Horsey of the International Crisis Group, describing the zone’s paradoxical atmosphere. “It gives the impression of opulence, a sort of Las Vegas in Laos, but it’s underpinned by the grim reality of a lucrative criminal ecosystem.”
Within the GTSEZ, entire towers are reportedly leased for cybercrime operations, running romance scams and financial fraud schemes targeting victims globally. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime warns that cyberfraud compounds are proliferating in similar special economic zones across Southeast Asia, often under the radar of local authorities.
A driver offering tours of the GTSEZ revealed that the city is home to people from many countries, including India, the Philippines, Russia, and African nations. Yet, he noted, “The Chinese mostly own the businesses.”
At the center of the controversy is Zhao Wei, the founder of Kings Romans Group. Zhao and his associates were sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in 2018 for alleged involvement in human trafficking, drug smuggling, wildlife trafficking, and child prostitution. Britain followed suit in 2023, accusing him of trafficking people into the GTSEZ, where victims were forced to work as scammers under threats of violence and abuse.
Despite periodic crackdowns by Chinese and Lao authorities — including raids in 2023 that saw hundreds arrested — the cybercrime networks have proven highly adaptable. Experts say the criminal operations have shifted strategies, focusing on recruiting voluntary workers rather than trafficking victims to maintain lower profiles and avoid disruptive law enforcement action.
“Violence doesn’t always pay,” Horsey explained. “It’s better to have motivated workers who aren’t scared and who are actually free to do their job.”
With the stakes high and the profits astronomical — criminal syndicates in the Mekong are estimated to steal over $43.8 billion annually — regional governments continue to walk a fine line between enforcement and tacit tolerance. Analysts suggest Beijing, in particular, is less interested in eradicating these networks entirely than in managing their activities to avoid domestic political fallout.
Representatives for the GTSEZ and Kings Romans Casino declined to comment, while Zhao Wei could not be reached. For now, the glittering lights of this so-called “Las Vegas in Laos” continue to conceal a darker underbelly driving one of Southeast Asia’s most complex criminal economies.
