In April, the Chinese Embassy in Madagascar issued a public statement warning people about the risk of being tricked into forced labour in online scam operations in the country. The announcement followed a Chinese national’s dramatic escape from a scam compound in Antananarivo, where he had allegedly been lured by a recruiter in Cambodia.

cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/52304109

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The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime has identified 14 countries that are particularly at risk of industrial-scale scam operations. In all of these locations, China-linked scam syndicates maintain an active presence on various Telegram channels, while associated money laundering and underground banking syndicates advertise jobs in several languages, using tactics similar to those employed in South East Asia. Some groups, including those linked to Madagascar, have attracted over 40 000 participants. In addition, underground payment systems used to launder scam proceeds are operating in at least 10 of these jurisdictions.

Police and media reporting reinforce this assessment. Since late 2024, authorities in Nigeria and Ghana have conducted raids on facilities hosting scam operations involving over 500 people of mixed Chinese and South East Asian origin. Smaller operations have been shut down in Zambia, Uganda, Eswatini, Angola and Egypt.

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The methods used to set up such operations vary from country to country, but often mirror those found in South East Asia. Some operate informally out of hotels and resorts, while others present themselves as call centres or business process outsourcing companies, or are embedded within casinos. In Zimbabwe, for instance, around 10 new casinos have reportedly been developed by Chinese investors over the last five years. Several of these in Harare have three-metre-high perimeter walls, raising concerns about the activities that may be taking place inside.

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