BANGKOK – Thailand has cut electricity supplies to a Myanmar border township that is home to a billion-dollar, Chinese-backed development that analysts say is a front for illegal gambling and online scam operations.

The Thai authorities halted the power to Shwe Kokko in Myanmar’s Karen state from midnight on Monday, Maesod district police chief Monsak Kaew-on told Agence France-Presse.

The electricity was cut after a contract for the Thai side to supply the town ended without the Myanmar junta renewing it, he added.

Many areas along Myanmar’s lawless eastern border are awash with Chinese investment, including in casinos, mines and logging.

The sprawling Shwe Kokko complex houses hotels and casinos targeting Chinese customers and is run by the Border Guard Force, a military-aligned ethnic militia.

Shwe Kokko’s main backer is a Chinese national named She Zhijiang, according to a 2020 report by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP).

His Hong Kong-registered company Yatai has portrayed the US$15 billion (S$20 billion) project as part of Beijing’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, but the Chinese government has denied any link.

The project was characterised by land-grabbing and an influx of Chinese nationals fleeing a crackdown on organised crime in Cambodia, according to the USIP report. These groups later set up casinos and money-laundering institutions, it said.

In August 2022, the Thai authorities detained She for allegedly running an illegal online casino.

He had been on the run from the Chinese authorities since 2012, according to Chinese media.

Myanmar’s junta has not commented on the cutting of electricity to the town.

Power outages are common in Myanmar due to a creaky and outdated electricity grid, with demand regularly outstripping supply during the sweltering summer months.

On May 31, the junta-appointed home minister met China’s ambassador to Myanmar, state media reported.

They discussed “online fraud and gambling on the Myanmar-China and Myanmar-Thailand borders”, and “enhancement of cooperation in the fight against transnational crimes”, according to the Global New Light of Myanmar.

Karen state has been riven by conflict since Myanmar gained independence from Britain in 1948, with ethnic rebels fighting the military and each other. AFP