Posted on 29 Oct 2025

Across the Mekong, organized crime shapes daily life—from illegal casinos in the Golden Triangle and synthetic drug production in Vietnam, to human trafficking, cyber scams, and the looting of forests and wildlife.

Mekong Matters is a new podcast from the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) featuring experts, investigators and local leaders who expose how criminal networks operate in their communities and across borders—and why their reach extends far beyond South East Asia.

In this series, we will be speaking on a diverse set of topics – from illegal casinos and laundering hubs – Synthetic drugs and cross-border drug trafficking – Human trafficking, forced scamming, and cyber-scam compounds – Corruption, shadow economies, and state capture – Money laundering and illicit finance – Wildlife trafficking, illegal rosewood logging, and environmental crime – Arms trafficking and smuggling routes – How crime impacts communities, healthcare, and governance.

Why it matters?

The Mekong region (Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam) is a global hub for transnational organized crime. – These criminal economies affect public safety, development, stability, public health, and democracy—locally and worldwide.

This podcast series is for journalists, researchers, policymakers, civil society, and anyone tracking the Mekong, South East Asia, or global illicit economies. This podcast has been funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The views expressed in this publication are the author’s alone and are not necessarily the views of the Australian Government.

In this end-of-year episode of Mekong Matters, we unpack how organized crime across the Mekong evolved in 2025, shedding light on the alarming developments that have taken place throughout the year. From industrial-scale cyber scam compounds and widening human trafficking networks to booming synthetic drug markets and sophisticated money laundering operations, we explore the multifaceted nature of these issues. Experts in the field explain in detail why the crisis is not only localized but is also spreading across continents, posing a significant challenge to global security.

Subscribe for monthly deep dives on organized crime trends across the Mekong.

Hosted by Trang Nguyen

🎧 New episodes on the last Monday of every month.

🤳 Subscribe to keep up to date.

Chapters:

00:00 - Opening: 2025 overview and the industrialization of cyber scams

00:45 - Scam epicentres: Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar

01:22 - How scam centres resurface after crackdowns

02:13 - Going transnational: expansion to Africa, Middle East, Pacific, South Asia

03:45 - Prevention: collaboration, data sharing, and top-level accountability

04:15 - Trafficking risks in Cambodia

06:29 - Labour trafficking and debt bondage explained

06:36 - Child sexual exploitation online: livestreams, sextortion, and AI imagery

08:09 - Language gaps: why Mekong-region content goes undetected

08:46 - Drugs in 2025: synthetic markets surge; Myanmar’s role

10:04 - Meth volumes visualized and the debate on drivers

12:35 - Following the money: shell companies and cross-border laundering

14:06 - Thailand temple scandal: embezzlement, extortion, and weak oversight

16:25 - Response gap widens: resilience vs. cyber/financial crime

17:09 - Cybercrime Convention: promise, timelines, and acting now

18:25 - Stay informed about organised crime in the Mekong

Guests:

Jason Tower - Senior Expert, GI-TOC

BC Tan - Managing Director & Head of Investigations in South East Asia, Kroll

Lindsey Kennedy - Investigative Journalist

Moeun Tola - Executive Director for the Center for Alliance for Labor and Human Rights

Virginia Comolli - Head of Pacific Programme, GI-TOC

Itsaraporn Daoram - Regional Coordinator for East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific, ECPAT

Patrick Winn - Investigative Journalist

Khemthong Tonsakulrungruang - Constitutional Law Scholar

Ian Tennant - Director of Multilateral Engagement, GI-TOC


This podcast has been funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The views expressed in this publication are the author's alone and are not necessarily the views of the Australian Government.

Border tensions between Cambodia and Thailand have pushed thousands of Cambodian migrant workers to return home. They face debt, unemployment, and heightened risk of labour trafficking. In this Mekong Matters episode, Trang Nguyen speaks with Moeun Tola, the Executive Director of the Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights (CENTRAL), about:

- How 2 million Cambodians working in Thailand are affected by conflict and xenophobia

- Debt bondage (51% of adult Cambodians in debt) and why “legal” recruitment can still be trafficking

- Passport withholding, forced labour, and the hidden mechanics of labour exploitation

- The vulnerabilities of low-skilled workers and migrant families with children

- What needs to change: agricultural reform, social land concessions, start-up capital, processing industries, market access

- The urgent need for real law enforcement

Chapters:

0:00 Trafficking victims need protection, not punishment

0:39 Episode intro and context

1:08 Border conflict and mass returns from Thailand

2:05 Jobs, debt, and Cambodia’s employment reality

3:47 Who’s most vulnerable and why

5:06 Debt bondage and “legal” labour trafficking explained

7:24 Migration by choice vs. necessity; regional risks

9:17 Long-term solutions: land, capital, and markets

12:14 Awareness campaigns, youth volunteers, and broker pushback

If you found this useful:

- Subscribe for more episodes of Mekong Matters

- Share this episode to raise awareness

- Learn more about GI-TOC’s work: globalinitiative.net

#MekongMatters #Cambodia #MigrantWorkers #LabourTrafficking #DebtBondage #HumanRights #Thailand #Migration #CENTRAL #GITOC

This podcast has been funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The views expressed in this publication are the author's alone and are not necessarily the views of the Australian Government.

Thailand is grappling with a wave of financial crimes linked to Buddhist temples—embezzlement, money laundering, misuse of donations, and blackmail scandals involving senior abbots. Despite public scandals, donations remain high and systemic issues persist. In this episode of Mekong Matters by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, Trang Nguyen speaks with legal scholar Khemthong Tonsakulrungruang about how structural loopholes, weak enforcement, low financial literacy, and deep cultural reverence for monks have enabled large-scale white-collar crime within the Thai Sangha.

We unpack: - The “Miss Golf” scandal and its connection to broader, systemic financial abuses - Why senior abbots appeared untouchable—and how cultural norms complicate accountability - The massive scale of temple wealth, from cash donations to land leases - Existing regulations vs. enforcement gaps (less than 10% compliance) - Practical reform steps: stronger accounting, electronic donations, cash limits, audits, and the role of the Sangha Council - Why police crackdowns miss the mark for complex, white-collar crimes—and why investigative journalism and forensic accounting matter.

🎙️ Hosted by Trang Nguyen

🎧 New episodes on the last Monday of every month.

🤳 Subscribe to keep up to date.

Chapters:

0:00 - Thai faith remains high despite scandals

0:36 - The “Miss Golf” case and wave of temple financial crimes

2:01 - Why this scandal is different: systemic links and scale

3:33 - Are senior abbots “untouchable”?

4:58 - Cultural reverence and immunity for monks

5:09 - What regulations exist for temple finances?

6:38 - Why enforcement fails: temple size and low financial literacy

8:16 - Monastic vs. civil property rules—and the abbot’s discretion

9:48 - Temple revenue streams: donations, rents, and no audit trail

10:36 - Real solutions: accounting standards, audits, journalism

11:56 - New measures: cash limits and e-donation trails

13:03 - Wrap-up

🎙️ Hosted by Trang Nguyen

Guest:

Dr. Khemthong Tonsakulrungruang — Specialist in Buddhism and constitutional law, focusing on governance, religious regulation, and the Thai Sangha.

Key takeaways:

This is a structural governance problem, not isolated misconduct. - Regulations exist on paper; enforcement and capacity are the weaknesses. - Transparent accounting, electronic payment trails, and independent oversight are essential. - Cultural deference to monks hinders scrutiny and accountability.

#Thailand #Buddhism #TempleScandal #FinancialCrime #Corruption #ThaiSangha #Governance #SoutheastAsia #MekongMatters #OrganizedCrime

Resources and links:

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime: https://globalinitiative.net

The Observatory of Illicit Economies in Asia-Pacific: https://globalinitiative.net/observatory/apa-obs/

Mekong Matters podcast page: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXSX1Xu1kM0tpdNHXq-KOsVwPERwt_jOa

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Subscribe for monthly episodes of Mekong Matters - Like, and share to support our analysis.

This podcast has been funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The views expressed in this publication are the author's alone and are not necessarily the views of the Australian Government.