Chongqing Cracks Down on Cross-border Gambling

Chen Yan Chen Can

Fortune or Misfortune？

"It doesn't matter if you take it or not. I'll pay for your flight tickets and you can go sightseeing anyway. On top of that， you may make a killing and you can leave anytime as you wish." Mr. Zeng was tempted to gamble by a WeChat message， unaware of the plot behind it， let alone the nightmare to unfold on a foreign land.

On October 1st， 2019， Zeng reported to the Yuzhong District Branch of the Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau （hereafter referred to as CMPSB）that he was kidnapped in a Southeast Asian country and extorted a ransom of 610，000 yuan.

Zeng recounted that he received a WeChat message from a loan shark whom he became acquainted with abroad， inviting him to a Southeast Asian nation for gambling. The man promised to provide Zeng with a free round-trip flight， a large number of gaming chips， and reassured him that it was OK if he did not want to gamble. He could go sightseeing and leave anytime he wanted.

"I didnt expect to be taken by a group of men soon after I got off the plane. They forced me at threat of violence to sign a loan contract worth 2 million yuan. They ordered me to gamble and lose until I spent it all." According to Zeng， he was taken captive after he lost the entire "loan." The gang beat him to demand a ransom from his family. Zeng was not released until his family paid 610，000 yuan.

"They were extremely brutal. I felt like going through hell those days..." Zeng told a police officer that there were still many others who had been detained in dark rooms like him， subjected to such cruel abuses.

The police uncovered a transnational criminal gang with a clear division of responsibility and an immense threat to the public. Headed by a suspect surnamed Wu， all of its key members had previous convictions. They hunted for targets through illegal gambling brokers or intermediaries outside China， lured the victims to a southeastern Asian country by claiming to provide free chips， and then abducted and abused them to extort ransoms from their families. The cracked cases involved some 290 victims from 29 provinces， cities and regions across China and over 70 million yuan. On top of that， the police discovered another criminal group under the prime culprit Mei， who committed crimes by the same methods. In total， they identified over 120 suspects between the two cliques.

“The moment I saw you， I knew we could be saved.” Around 9 p.m. on January 20 of last year， when the police troops broke into the suspects hideout and apprehended them， the seven victims in detention burst into tears.

To solve these cases， some 330 police officers worked in China and in the foreign country for over four months. On January 20， the task force decided to launch operations both in and outside China at the same time， and sent 57 squads to take joint action to seize all suspects in one go. Consequently， key members of Wus and the Meis criminal groups were all arrested， and seven victims were rescued.

Losing It All

“Easy bet， easy play. All you need is a smart phone， just sit back and the money will come flowing...” In April 2020， Zhang registered on an online gambling app at an agents persuasion. “Free to play， bonus gift for registering， top up 100 and get 100 for free.” Various marketing schemes convinced Zhang to give it a try. The rate of winning a game was set to be higher for beginners， so that Zhang could initially win a few small sums. After getting hooked on the thrill of making easy money， Zhang began to put money into his account.

“I did win some money when I started， so I continued until I lost my grip. The more I lost， the more eager I was to win it back. Later， I began to borrow money，” Zhang said. It was too late when he realized that he had already lost over 1 million yuan.

According to the police， a number of gamblers like Zhang wished to become rich overnight. But it was such human weaknesses that had pushed them into the pit. “Apps of this kind are deliberately designed in a manipulative way. You are made to win at the beginning to create the mirage of easy fortune.”

In April 2020， an important piece of evidence popped up. The Nan'an Branch of CMPSB established a task force consisting of highly skilled police officers to deal with the case. They found out that the criminals had clearly defined responsibilities. Some were tasked with setting up servers outside China， some with developing the App， and others with recruiting multi-tiered agents in China to build networks and hunt for targets. The gangsters bought bank cards， ID information and other personal data through illegal channels， and moved gambling money around to circumvent regulations and investigations.

Figuring out the gangs modus operandi， the task force decided to launch an organized operation to terminate their crimes. Following the principle of “cracking down on crimes along the chain and confiscating and freezing all funds involved，” the task force meticulously screened some tens of thousands of bank account statements to identify the targeted suspects on April 18.

Under the unified instructions of the CMPSB， over 200 police officials in 22 squads were sent to Yunnan， Fujian， Sichuan， Shandong and other places to wrap up operations. As a result， 166 suspects were arrested， 1，682 bank accounts and mobile payment accounts were closed or suspended， and a large sum of funds was frozen.

Fund Transfers

In May 2019， the Yunyang County Police of Chongqing City acquired an importance clue： a high-tech company in Chongqing provided payment and settlement services for overseas online gambling platforms with daily settlement funds up to 10 million yuan. As a response， the Yunyang Police set up immediately a task force with elite members.

“Help us create fake online shopping records， and make easy money from home，” A citizen surnamed Li received a message on the online communication platform QQ， “You can earn commission simply by transferring money via your bank， WeChat or Alipay accounts.” Li thought it was profitable， so he provided his WeChat information accordingly. But the criminals took advantage of Lis account to settle online gambling funds.

According to the police， the likes of Li provided WeChat QR codes to earn commission， hence called “code providers” by the criminals.

Statistics showed that the criminal gang had recruited tens of thousands of “code providers” by various methods. They had collected WeChat and Alipay QR codes or bank accounts to facilitate fund transfers.

The police discovered that these criminals had established a dozen online platforms for fund payment and settlement exclusively for those gambling websites abroad. WeChat， Alipay and bank accounts of “code providers” were used as a cover for such transfers. As one of the payment platforms， Jiaotoubao alone had handled 400 million yuan of settlements in half a year.

In an ocean of data， the police had compared， screened， and verified every piece of information， conducted investigations and analysis， collected evidence， and finally spotted a large gang of over 60 criminals headed by Xie， Man and Sun， who committed crimes in four provinces and cities.

After verifying an extensive trail of evidence and figuring out the composition of the criminal gang， the police took immediate actions to hunt down the criminals and recover lost funds. Over 100 police officers in 28 squads were dispatched to Guangdong， Fujian， Liaoning， Sichuan and other places to carry out tasks in a synchronized manner， and they captured 61 suspects and froze over 4，000 bank accounts.

Joint Actions

In recent years， the Chinese police have continued to improve international cooperation with other countries to combat cross-border crimes.

On February 28， 2020， the Ministry of Public Security of the PRC deployed a campaign to crack down on cross-border gambling. Police troops at different levels sprang into action， with highly-trained officers mobilized to fight against cross-border gambling and related crimes， including fraud， money laundering， abduction， human trafficking， illegal immigration， and financial offenses. Notable progress has been achieved.

The Chongqing police have established working mechanisms such as conferences and information exchange and sharing， opened fast tracks to deal with gambling-related cases， and built a platform for joint administration and governance. So far， they have apprehended some 1，700 suspects， examined and verified bank statements worth 16 billion yuan， and confiscated a large sum of assets involved.

Synergistic Efforts Toward Breakthroughs

The Chongqing police have been playing a leading role in collaborative work. They have dug deep into the aforementioned cases to collect evidence， provide online and offline channels to handle reports， analyze recent gambling-related cases and online information， and undertake all-out efforts in carrying out joint actions. As a result， they have completed more than 150 operations in total and have settled a series of cross-border gambling cases.

In the meantime， police strengthened border control measures， investigated and severely punished those who established the platforms that provided Internet access， servers， and marketing for cross-border gambling activities， and initiated a campaign to combat online lottery sales. They took strict measures to handle cases such as enterprises in Chongqing investing in overseas gambling activities， and organizing and sending contract workers for such activities. The Chongqing police also conducted a citywide survey on Internet-based companies， instructed them to practice stricter self-regulation， and strengthened supervision over online games in an effort to prevent game addiction， root out online gambling games， cut off access to apps and websites related to gambling and stop the dissemination of access links via short messages.

Public Involvement

"Once engaged in cross-border gambling， you will lose everything，" "cross-border gambling is a pitfall that turns your fortune into misfortune"... Such slogans have been adopted by the Chongqing police in anti-gambling campaigns. To achieve broad public participation in opposing online gambling， they also solicited videos， posters and slogans from police troops and police officials across the city. So far， 270 works of various kinds have been submitted， all of which were created by police officers based on their daily practice.

At the same time， the Chongqing police also staged anti-gambling activities in communities， enterprises， schools and commercial areas to increase public awareness to guard against the illegal activities and encourage public participation in countering and governing cross-border gambling.

The person in charge from the CMPSB said that they will continue to implement the most stringent measures to crush cross-border gambling crimes， launch heavy-handed crackdowns on offenses according to the law， take collective efforts to clamp down on organized outbound gambling and online gambling platforms， strengthen regulations and routine governance， adopt integrated approaches to rein in gamblers， and expand channels for public reports. By doing so， they can restrict gambling crimes， reverse the rising trend， safeguard China's economic security， and maintain social stability and the national image.

Tips from the Task Force

Could you elaborate on the features of cross-border gambling？

Tang Lie： There are three outstanding features. The first feature is outbound-to-inbound expansion. At present， transnational gambling is dominated by overseas criminal gangs. They set up a number of websites for gambling targeting Chinese nationals. Some of them even send accomplices to the China to hire members and agents， who release high-payment recruitments via intermediaries or on major job-hunting platforms under the pretext of high-tech companies. They also recruit Chinese nationals to work for them abroad， promoting their websites and providing customer services.

The second feature is substantial losses for those who play. The gangs let those who play their games win petty amounts and then lose considerably. They lure people to register by offering free trials and cash rebates， for instance， top up 100 and get 100 for free. They raise the win rate and allow the bettors to win small amounts， with instant petty cash withdrawals available. But when it comes to large amounts， they resort to any possible means to delay the process of cashing out. After experiencing the excitement of making easy money， the clients would fall for the thrill， continue to top up and lose more.

Its third feature is its underlying connections with other crimes. Cross-border gambling is always related to serious criminal offenses and economic crimes， such as organized crime， criminal gangs， abduction， extortion， and fraud. For instance， in January 2020， the Chongqing police concluded major transnational gambling-based abduction and extortion cases in joint efforts with the Cambodian police. During these operations， they destroyed two criminal gangs， dismantled five hideouts in the two countries， apprehended some 120 suspects， and rescued seven hostages on sight.

How does cross-border gambling threaten the public security？ What preventive measures should citizens take？

Tang Lie： Firstly， it's detrimental to people's lawful rights and interests. As it's always related to organized crime， fraud， abduction， illegal immigration， and financial crimes， it's more likely to develop illegal industrial chains， presenting huge threats to personal safety and property. Secondly， it poses a grave impact on national economic security. Underground banks for cross-border gambling may also commit money laundering and other offenses that could raise the risk of economic and financial crisis， severely undermining China's economic security.

The police have launched harsh crackdowns to destroy the networks of overseas criminal cliques who organize online gambling in China. They have taken strict control measures; traced suspects， channels， funds and technologies; built a strong line of defense for personal and property security; and contributed to maintaining social stability and protecting the nation's image.

Here we would like give a warning to those who dream to make a fortune overnight by participating in cross-border gambling： such activities are highly deceptive and fraudulent. It may lead to financial loss or even physical harm. We hope that the public can beware of its cheating nature and the severe consequences， refuse cross-border or online gambling， and take better precautions.

What punishments will be enforced on those who organize cross-border gambling， provide services， and engage in it？ What lessons can we draw from them？

Tang Lie： According to The Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China， whoever for the purpose of profit， gathers people to engage in gambling or makes gambling his profession shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years under criminal detention or public surveillance， in addition to fines. Whoever runs a gambling house shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years under criminal detention or public surveillance， in addition to fines; or if the circumstances are serious， be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years but not more than ten years， in addition to fines. Whoever arranges for a citizen of the Peoples Republic of China to participate in gambling outside the countrys borders shall， if the amount involved is substantial or there is any other serious circumstance， be punished in accordance with the provision of the preceding paragraph.

Whoever serves as an agent for a gambling website or take bets for others， and whoever engages in marketing these websites knowingly for the purpose of profit such as advertising， recruiting members， and providing technological support， shall be held accountable as an accomplice of those who run gambling houses in accordance with The Criminal Law of the PRC and other relevant provisions.

According to The Law of the PRC on Penalties for Administration of Public Security， whoever provides conditions for gambling for the purpose of making profits， or participates in gambling with a relatively big amount of money， shall be detained for not more than five days or be fined not more than 500 yuan; or if the circumstances are serious， he shall be detained for not less than 10 days but not more than 15 days and shall be fined not less than 500 yuan but not more than 3，000 yuan.

The police show zero tolerance to those who organize or participate in cross-border gambling and will launch heavy-handed crackdown on such crimes and related ones in accordance with the law. Here， we warn those involved in gambling to stop committing crimes immediately and surrender to the police. You are bound to lose in the end， and what awaits you is not only a broke life but also a ruined future. Its time that you reined yourself in from the brink of the precipice.

（Tang Lie， Head of the Task Force， and Deputy Director of the Criminal Investigation Unit of the Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau）