The Mekong Risk Monitor is a periodic publication produced by the Mekong Network to Counter Transnational Crime (MNET-CTC), a programme implemented in partnership by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) and the Australian government. This inaugural issue tracks developments in the illicit economies of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, and examines how these trends intersect with governance, development and security dynamics across the Mekong region. Drawing on interviews with journalists, state officials and civil society, as well as open-source monitoring, the monitor delivers evidence-based analysis of emerging threats and vulnerabilities.

Each edition will analyse trends in key criminal markets and situates local developments within regional and global contexts to strengthen understanding of organized crime in the Mekong and support evidence-based policymaking and programming. This issue focuses on four criminal markets: the sexual exploitation and abuse of women and girls, cyber scam operations, drug trafficking and financial crime. It highlights how shifting political, economic and technological conditions create opportunities for organized crime and how governments, communities and civil society respond.

Five interrelated dynamics shaping the region’s illicit economies anchor this edition. The first article tracks the evolving use of crypto assets in financial crime in Vietnam, where large-scale investment fraud and transnational money laundering schemes have surged since 2024. These schemes exploit gaps in regulatory oversight, investigative capacity and cross-border surveillance. Major cases, including Matrix Chain, PaynetCoin, CrossFi and others, have defrauded tens of thousands of investors and revealed the systemic scale of crypto-related crimes.

The second article examines developments in the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ) in Laos. Long associated with online gambling, scamming operations and money laundering, the zone has recently been the focus of announcements, inspections and shifts in population dynamics. Despite these actions, criminal networks continue to adapt, relocating operations to alternative sites in Laos, Myanmar and beyond, while questions remain about the future of the zone and the role of key actors.

The third article explores persistent patterns of bride trafficking from Cambodia to China. Cambodian women and girls remain vulnerable to exploitation due to poverty, indebtedness and limited economic opportunities, while high demand for foreign brides in China sustains a lucrative market for brokers. Despite joint operations, rescues and awareness efforts, NGOs and officials observe no sign of decline in the trend. Victims continue to face coercion, restrictive conditions, debt, and long-term psychological and economic impacts.

The fourth article analyses how app-based delivery services in Thailand are exploited by drug networks for distribution. Riders may knowingly or unknowingly transport narcotics ordered through social media platforms, with traffickers using methods that conceal drugs within legitimate packages. Social media-enabled marketing, high geographic reach, and loopholes in delivery service policies make these systems attractive for drug traffickers.

The final article assesses Laos’s widespread cash-based criminal economy and its role in smuggling and money laundering. Despite regulatory requirements, large amounts of undeclared cash move through border checkpoints and remote crossings, enabled by bribery, capacity constraints and fragmented enforcement. Cash remains central to criminal markets, including human trafficking, environmental crimes, synthetic drugs and financial crimes.

Together, the pieces highlight evolving risks to communities, state institutions and local economies across the Mekong, and invite contributions for future issues of the Mekong Risk Monitor.