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
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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":"\n
Lao Casino Kingpin Zhao Wei Denies US Treasury \u201cCriminal Organization\u201d Designation<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n