US Sanctions Macau Gang Boss 'Broken Tooth'

One of Macau's most infamous pre-handover triad leaders, "Broken Tooth" Wan Kuok-koi, has been hit with sanctions by the United States.

Wan, who served a 13-year prison sentence from 1999 for a host of offences including the attempted murder of a police chief, is one of three people named on a US Treasury Department list of individuals to be sanctioned for "anti-corruption" purposes.

Dongmei Investment Group, a Hong Kong-based company controlled by Wan, is also included, as are organisations he is said to control based in Palau and Cambodia. Dongmei is involved in investments in Myanmar.

In a statement, the Treasury Department described Wan as "a leader of the 14K Triad, one of the largest Chinese organised criminal organisations in the world".

It says one of the entities it sanctioned, the World Hongmen History and Culture Association, was being used by the 14K to "legitimise itself" and had

"managed to co-opt elite figures in Malaysia and Cambodia".

"This continues a pattern of overseas Chinese actors trying to paper over illegal criminal activities by framing their actions in terms of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the China Dream, or other major initiatives of the [Chinese Communist Party]."

Wan initially kept a low profile on his release from prison in 2012 but has since launched several ventures, including a cryptocurrency project.

The latest round of sanctions also include a lawyer from Liberia and an official from Kyrgyzstan.