Karen BGF taxes Shwe Kokko workers as it moves away from Myanmar’s military

The Karen Border Guard Force (BGF) has begun collecting taxes from employees working inside the notorious Shwe Kokko Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in eastern Karen (Kayin) State’s Myawaddy Township, according to sources there. The move, which comes after the Karen BGF announced late last month that it was no longer accepting salaries or other financial support from Myanmar’s military junta, appeared to be aimed at finding alternative sources of revenue. According to an employee of a casino in the Shwe Kokko SEZ—which hosts at least two dozen companies, each with hundreds of employees—workers received a notification earlier this month telling them they would have to pay a tax of 8,891 Thai baht (US$248) to the Shwe Kokko Myaing Urban Development Fund. Copies of the notification seen by Myanmar Now say that the money would be used for the “well-being of residents, safe travel, and peace and tranquillity in the town.” It also states that workers could request a two-month salary advance to pay the tax. This comes about a month after workers were informed—in a letter dated January 9 and signed by Col. Saw Maung Win of the Karen BGF’s Battalion 3—that they would have to start paying 1,000 baht ($28) a month to Yatai International Holdings Group, the Chinese-based corporation that owns an 80 percent stake in the Shwe Kokko SEZ. The remaining 20 percent of shares in the “new city” development project are owned by the Chit Lin Myaing Company, founded by Karen BGF commander Col. Saw Chit Thu. Saw Chit Thu, a former leader of the military-aligned Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, agreed to transform the group into a BGF under military command in 2010 as part of an agreement with the junta that held power at the time. In December of last year, he and the managing director of Chit Lin Myaing, Saw Min Min Oo, together with Chinese investor She Zhijiang, were targeted for sanctions by the US, UK, and Canadian governments for their involvement in the Shwe Kokko project, which has been linked to illegal gambling and online fraud activities, as well as human trafficking. Drifting apart In late January, Saw Chit Thu met with Vice Senior General Soe Win, the second in command of Myanmar’s junta, amid moves by the Karen BGF to dissociate itself from the military after months of stunning defeats at the hands of armed groups opposed to its rule. Earlier this month, the military announced that it would begin cracking down on illegal businesses based along the Thai-Myanmar border, where the Shwe Kokko SEZ is located. However, Myanmar Now’s sources in the area say they have yet to see any change in the situation. “I haven’t heard of any suspension of operations or requests for employees to return to their homes. Everything is running normally,” said a worker at a Shwe Kokko casino who did not want to be named. In early January, jobs at the site paying salaries of 15-25,000 baht ($418-695) per month were still being advertised on social media. Some positions offered bonuses of 1,000 baht a month. There have also been reports that the military has been carefully monitoring the activities of Karen BGF troops entering and exiting the Karen State capital Hpa-an amid rumours that the group is planning an attack on the town. When contacted for comment, Maj. Naing Maung Zaw of the Karen BGF dismissed the claims as “unfounded” and also downplayed tensions between the two sides. “Our groups in Hpa-an are operating under normal conditions,” he told Myanmar Now. He added, however, that “There might be a bit of concern on the other side.” He also confirmed that Saw Chit Thu had conveyed to the junta that the Karen BGF would no longer take its side in fighting with the Karen National Union (KNU). Saw Chit Thu told a media outlet last month that the Karen BGF no longer wished to fight with fellow Karen and would focus on defending its own territory. Meanwhile, a recent report has highlighted the massive scale of criminal activity in special economic zones along the Thai-Myanmar border. According to analysis by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis and US anti-slavery group International Justice Mission, a single Chinese company operating in Myawaddy Township was found to have received more than $100 million in cryptocurrency payments in less than two years. Most of that money is believed to have come from victims of online scams or the families of trafficked workers being held by the company. Jackie Koven, the head of cyber threat intelligence at Chainalysis, called the finding “just a vignette of what’s taking place on a [larger] scale,” the Financial Times reported. The company in question—which was not identified—is located in an area south of Shwe Kokko known as the KK Park. While the casinos and other companies based there are mostly Chinese-owned, the compound is in territory controlled by KNU Brigade 6.

Karen BGF taxes Shwe Kokko workers as it moves away from Myanmar’s military

The move comes despite evidence that scam factories and other illegal operations based in the “new city” on the Thai-Myanmar continue to generate massive revenue

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