{"id":69274,"date":"2018-02-06T17:00:21","date_gmt":"2018-02-07T01:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=69274"},"modified":"2018-02-06T14:49:07","modified_gmt":"2018-02-06T22:49:07","slug":"lao-casino-kingpin-zhao-wei-denies-us-treasury-criminal-organization-designation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/lao-casino-kingpin-zhao-wei-denies-us-treasury-criminal-organization-designation\/","title":{"rendered":"Lao Casino Kingpin Zhao Wei Denies US Treasury \u201cCriminal Organization\u201d Designation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Notorious Lao casino operator Zhao Wei has publicly denied the the US Treasury Department\u2019s assertion<\/a> that his business empire constitutes a \u201ctransnational criminal organization.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Lao
Lao casino boss Zhou Wei (left) makes a rare public appearance on local television to defiantly answer US Treasury allegations about the criminal nature of his business empire. (Image: public domain)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Chinese national, who owns the Kings Romans Casino in the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ) where Laos, Thailand and Myanmar (Burma) meet, has decried the US allegations as \u201ca unilateral, extraterritorial, unreasonable and hegemonic act of ulterior motives and malicious rumor-mongering.\u201d<\/p>\n

This action has severely misled international public opinion and created unnecessary worries among some investors and tourists,\u201d complained Zhao in an official statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs an investor, all of my own activities and those of my staff and companies in all countries and areas are legal, ordinary business operations supervised by the legal authorities of the relevant countries that have not harmed the interests of any country or individual,\u201d he continued.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The businessman later repeated these statements in an interview with Lao television.<\/p>\n

\u2018Horrendous\u2019 Criminal Network<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Last week, the US accused Zhao of presiding over an empire that engaged in \u201chorrendous\u201d illegal activities, including \u201chuman trafficking and child prostitution, drug trafficking, and wildlife trafficking.”<\/p>\n

\u201cBased in Laos within the GTSEZ, the\u00a0Zhao\u00a0Wei\u00a0transnational criminal organisation exploits this region by engaging in drug trafficking, human trafficking, money laundering, bribery, and wildlife trafficking, much of which is facilitated through the Kings Romans Casino located within the GTSEZ,\u201d said a Treasury Department statement.<\/p>\n

On January 30, the US Treasury<\/a> imposed sanctions on Zhao and three companies linked to him, as well as three other individuals, including Zhao\u2019s wife. The measure immediately froze all US assets owned by these entities and prohibited American citizens from doing business with them.<\/p>\n

Friends in High Places<\/strong><\/h2>\n

GTSEZ was established in 2007 by the nominally Communist totalitarian Lao government with the help of Zhao\u2019s investment. Through bribery and promises of further investment the billionaire runs the zone as his own personal fiefdom, which he has allegedly transformed into a \u201clawless playground\u201d for wealthy Chinese visitors.<\/p>\n

\n

Chinese residents of the zone refer to him as \u201cTu Huangdi,\u201d or the \u201clocal tyrant or emperor.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The area is one of the world\u2019s main drug producing regions, mainly heroin and methamphetamines, and it does a brisk trade in endangered species. A 2015 report by London-based Environmental Investigation Agency claimed that \u201csellers and buyers are free to trade a host of endangered species products including tigers, leopards, elephants, rhinos, pangolins, helmeted hornbills, snakes and bears poached from Asia and Africa, and smuggled to this small haven for wildlife crime.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zhou has friends in high places, though, and on Monday an official of the Bokeo Province administration leapt to his defence.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe accusation is not true because the place is properly managed and operated. Furthermore, our government is also monitoring the venue,\u201d he explained to Radio FreeAsia\u2019s Lao Service.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Notorious Lao casino operator Zhao Wei has publicly denied the the US Treasury Department\u2019s assertion that his business empire constitutes a \u201ctransnational criminal organization.\u201d The Chinese national, who owns the Kings Romans Casino in the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ) where Laos, Thailand and Myanmar (Burma) meet, has decried the US allegations as \u201ca […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":69278,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,60,18],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLao Casino Kingpin Zhao Wei Denies US Treasury \u201cCriminal Organization\u201d Designation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Chinese gambling kingpin Zhao Wei and his Kings Roman Casino in Laos have been placed on an economic blacklist by the US government and accused of drug running and human trafficking.\" \/>\n<meta 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