In a decisive legal move, China has carried out the execution of 11 members belonging to a notorious mafia family from Myanmar, known for orchestrating elaborate online romance scams. The Ming crime family, infamous for their fraudulent schemes, faced justice in the eastern city of Wenzhou, where a court had sentenced them to death in September. The executions were conducted on Thursday, marking the culmination of their sentencing.

These scams have not been confined to China alone. Victims in countries such as the UK and the US have also fallen prey to these sophisticated operations, finding themselves ensnared in deceptive romantic relationships that ultimately led to significant financial loss.

According to the Xinhua news agency, the family was executed for a range of offenses, including ‘intentional homicide, intentional injury, unlawful detention, fraud, and casino establishment.’ Such charges underscore the severity and breadth of their criminal activities.

The death sentences were sanctioned by the Supreme People’s Court in Beijing, which deemed the evidence against the Ming family as both ‘conclusive and sufficient.’ The court’s ruling was based on a series of crimes that trace back to 2015.

Local media reports shed light on the extensive impact of the Ming family’s actions, noting their involvement in the deaths of 14 Chinese nationals and numerous injuries to others. This grim toll highlights the dangerous reach of their criminal enterprise.

The ‘Ming family criminal group’ had contributed to the deaths of 14 Chinese citizens and injuries to ‘many others’, according to local media. 

‘The criminals’ close relatives were allowed to meet with them before the execution,’ Xinhua added. 

Their empire of crime came crashing down in 2023 after they were detained and handed over to Chinese authorities by ethnic militias that had taken power in the town of Laukkaing amid rising conflicts with Myanmar’s army. 

Under Chinese law, criminals sentenced to death are executed either by firing squad or lethal injection. 

As part of its own effort to combat online fraud, the UK government last October sanctioned a network that operates scam centres in Southeast Asia and has several assets in London.

The leader of the group, Chen Zhi, and his web of enablers had incorporated their businesses in the British Virgin Islands and invested in the London property market, acquiring assets including a £12 million mansion on Avenue Road in north London, a £100 million office building on Fenchurch Street in the City of London, and seventeen flats on New Oxford Street and in Nine Elms in south London.

All of the businesses and properties were frozen, as part of the government’s attempt to clampdown on scam centres which trick victims across the world out of substantial sums of money and torture their trafficked workers.

The execution in China came as Sir Keir Starmer met with Chinese president Xi Jinping in Beijing, where the British prime minister said he raised the country’s human rights record.

Starmer said when asked if the issue of human rights and of the prosecution of British citizen and pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai had been raised: ‘We did have a respectful discussion about that, raised those issues as you would expect. 

China has executed 11 people linked to Myanmar criminal gangs, including ‘key members’ of telecom scam operations (pictured, some of the crime family at their sentencing in October at the Wenzhou Intermediate People’s Court in eastern China’s Zhejiang Province)

Fraud operations centred in Myanmar’s border regions have extracted billions of dollars from around the world through phone and internet scams (pictured, some of the crime family at their sentencing in October at the Wenzhou Intermediate People’s Court in eastern China’s Zhejiang Province) 

‘It gives us great opportunities, but it also gives us the opportunity to have those discussions about areas where we disagree.’

Fraud compounds where scammers lure internet users into fake romantic relationships and cryptocurrency investments have flourished across Southeast Asia, including in the lawless borderlands of Myanmar.

Initially largely targeting Chinese speakers, the criminal groups behind the compounds have expanded operations into multiple languages to steal from victims around the world.

Those conducting the scams are sometimes willing con artists, and other times trafficked foreign nationals forced to work.

In recent years, Beijing has stepped up cooperation with regional governments to crack down on the compounds, and thousands of people have been repatriated to face trial in China’s opaque justice system.

Fraud operations centred in Myanmar’s border regions have extracted billions of dollars from around the world through phone and internet scams.

Experts say most of the centres are run by Chinese-led crime syndicates working with Myanmar militias.

The fraud activities and crackdowns by Beijing are closely followed in China.

The executions are designed to send a message of deterrence to would-be scammers, but the business has now moved to Myanmar’s border with Thailand, and to Cambodia and Laos – areas where China has much less influence.

The September rulings that resulted in Thursday’s executions also included death sentences with two-year reprieves to five other individuals.

Another 23 suspects were given prison sentences ranging from five years to life.

In November, Chinese authorities sentenced five people to death for their involvement in scam operations in Myanmar’s Kokang region.

Their crimes had led to the deaths of six Chinese nationals, according to state media reports.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime warned in April that the cyberscam industry was spreading across the world, including to South America, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and some Pacific Islands.

The UN has estimated that hundreds of thousands of people are working in scam centres globally.

The UK government launched sanctions on illegal scam networks last October alongside the US, to ensure maximum impact.

The joint action followed extensive investigations by the FCDO and the United States’ Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

‘The masterminds behind these horrific scam centres are ruining the lives of vulnerable people and buying up London homes to store their money,’ Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said.

‘Together with our US allies, we are taking decisive action to combat the growing transnational threat posed by this network – upholding human rights, protecting British nationals and keeping dirty money off our streets.’ 

Fraud Minister Lord Hanson added: ‘Fraudsters prey on the most vulnerable by stealing life savings, ruining trust, and devastating lives. We will not tolerate this. 

‘These sanctions prove our determination to stop those who profit from this activity, hold offenders accountable, and keep dirty money out of the UK. 

‘Through our new, expanded Fraud Strategy and the upcoming Global Fraud Summit, we will go even further to disrupt corrupt networks and protect the public from shameless criminals.’

Taking place in Vienna between March 16-17,  the Global Fraud Summit will bring together representatives from across governments, law enforcement, the private sector and academia to ‘galvanise international action’ and deliver ‘cross-sector collaboration’.