Strengthening ASEAN’s response to transnational crime

As ASEAN continues to strive to realize its vision on political-security, economic and socio-cultural communities, cooperation in preventing and combating transnational crime in ASEAN is an effective way to ensure the security and prosperity of each country and the entire region.

There are two main bodies that oversee ASEAN’s efforts against transnational crime, including the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime (AMMTC) and the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime (SOMTC). The former was established based on the 1997 Manila Declaration on Transnational Crime and is composed of ministers responsible for transnational crime from each member country. It is also the highest policy-making body on cooperation in this area within ASEAN.

Established in 1999, the SOMTC is charged with implementing the policies and plans adopted by the AMMTC. The SOMTC also develops a five-year work programme to implement the ASEAN Plan of Action on Transnational Crime, which identifies various types of existing and emerging transnational crime.

Currently, intersectional convergences between specific transnational crimes in Southeast Asia are strengthening criminal networks and exacerbating the effects of illicit economies. In addition to recent reflections on the convergences of armed violence and biodiversity loss in Indonesia and the Philippines, further consideration is needed for trafficking in persons forced into crime, including fraud, in mainland Southeast Asia, particularly in Cambodia and the Golden Triangle — which includes Laos, Myanmar and Thailand.

The nexus of fraud-driven crime and human trafficking in mainland Southeast Asia, both before and after the pandemic, has led to several overlapping criminal activities. A new form of human trafficking has quickly taken root in the ASEAN region, where individuals are recruited for what are presented as legitimate jobs in digital marketing, customer service, construction, and translation, only to be forced to work in scam centers. These centers use deceptive means to recruit workers—largely from overseas—to establish online relationships with people in other countries, who are then defrauded through fraudulent cryptocurrency investment schemes.

This situation concerns two groups of victims: not only the workers subjected to forced labour, debt bondage and severe physical abuse – including torture, beatings and rape – and those who are victims of online financial scams by trafficked workers.

Many organized crime groups have set up scam centers to operate in special economic zones along the Golden Triangle — areas with weaker regulations and limited law enforcement presence. These groups leverage various cryptocurrencies in online businesses and marketplaces on both the clear and dark web. This allows them to generate, mix and transfer funds and move goods after profiting from these scam compounds. Estimated revenue generated by scam centers in one Southeast Asian country ranges from $7.5 to 12.5 billion.

The exact approach to combating transnational crimes, particularly for convergences of criminal networks, would depend on the specific circumstances of each country. It is a complex problem that requires a coordinated response, with international and regional law enforcement playing a crucial role in addressing non-traditional threats in Southeast Asia. As a result, there have been increasing calls for bilateral, multilateral and regional cooperation in recent times.

The proposed establishment of an ASEAN Centre on Transnational Crime (ACOT), first mentioned in the ASEAN Declaration on Transnational Crime (1997), is to be implemented after nearly two decades of discussion in formal and informal settings. Such a centre would be crucial in coordinating regional efforts against transnational crime through three main areas: intelligence sharing, joint investigation teams (JITs) and standardisation of related policies, and coordination of operations.

To effectively deal with convergences of criminal networks, this center will focus on exchanging information on collusive operations between converging groups within their territories to help JITs take effective countermeasures. Initially established as an official multilateral law enforcement agency such as INTERPOL or EUROPOL, ACOT should coordinate with current institutions combating transnational crime such as the ASEAN Narcotics Cooperation Centre, the ASEAN Cyber ​​Cooperation Centre, the ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network and ASEAN Counter Trafficking. Later, the center will extend cooperation to criminal justice agencies such as ASEANPOL and the ASEAN Chief Justices Council to support prosecutions in the region’s jurisdictions.

Once established, ACOT would enhance cross-border cooperation, including intelligence sharing and JITs, to address issues such as arms trafficking, wildlife trafficking, and human trafficking-fueled online scams. These issues and their possible solutions would be discussed and resolved by ASEAN members and their counterparts during ministerial meetings. The centre would also operate under the auspices of both the AMMTC and SOMTC, with an annual reporting mechanism. As such, ACOT would be an important milestone for ASEAN as it approaches 2025 to ensure that the region continues to ‘Forging Ahead Together’.

Hai Thanh Luong is a lecturer at Griffith University’s School of Criminology and Criminal Justice.

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