Chinese Crime Boss ‘Broken Tooth’ Wan Linked to Massive Internet Scams

As global worries grow about online investment fraud, Chinese gangster Wan Kuok-koi, nicknamed “Broken Tooth,” still moves around and pushes business deals across Southeast Asia. This happens even though the US has had sanctions on him for years, and many allegations of his running organized crime operations.

Wan Kuok-koi Resurfaces as Alleged Mastermind Behind Expanding Southeast Asian Scam Network

Wan, who used to lead the 14K Triad in Macau, has become a central player in the growth of what people call “pig butchering” scams. These online tricks involve scammers building fake romantic or business relationships with their targets, then talking them into putting money into phony cryptocurrency sites. The US government thinks these cons have taken billions from Americans in the past few years.

Despite Wan’s imprisonment in 1999 for offenses such as criminal association and attempted murder, he resurfaced in 2012 claiming to be a legitimate businessman. He established the World Hongmen History and Culture Association, which promotes Chinese culture but has been identified by the US Treasury as a front to carry out criminal operations. In 2020, the US imposed sanctions on both Wan and the Hongmen association for their alleged involvement in drug trafficking, money laundering, and other illegal activities.

Reports from The Wall Street Journal and other sources indicate that Hongmen now operates in multiple Southeast Asian nations in areas where law enforcement has a limited presence. People link Wan to the creation of the Dongmei Zone in Myanmar — a region that experts now think houses one of the first big bases for online scams and human trafficking.

Sanctioned Figurehead Wan Still Active on Global Stage Despite Criminal Past

Even with his criminal past and sanctions, Wan still shows up in public, at business gatherings and promotional events. Social media videos show him visiting Laos, Cambodia, and Macau, often wearing clothes tied to controversial groups like Russia’s Wagner Group. The fact that he remains visible even with such serious claims against him shows how hard it is to prosecute cybercriminals who work across borders.

Adding to the complexity is Wan’s reported closeness to Chinese political heavyweights. From 2015 to 2020, state media named him as part of a crucial advisory group to the Chinese Communist Party. Although Beijing says it has no current connections, photos and papers hint that his work still lines up with state goals, including backing the Belt and Road Initiative and meetings with CCP-linked groups overseas.

Even though countries like Thailand and Malaysia have started looking into operations tied to Wan, most of these probes have ended without clear results. Experts say the lack of teamwork between countries, along with the murky setup of his business network, has let him keep working without any pushback.At present, the individual once linked to Macau’s brutal criminal world seems to have transformed himself. He is not hiding away, but instead operating as a visible entrepreneur, though still under the cloud of his former life.