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Palau Palau

operated. But a thorough investigation never took place since anything about Tian when they met him.
most detainees were quickly deported. He said that as soon as they read about him in the
Palauan law enforcement say they have not been able to news, they wrote to the Attorney General to dissolve the
fully unravel who is behind the online gambling operations, organisation.
although police chief, Ismael Aguon said they appear to be Other prominent Palauans, including a sitting congressman
linked to large international criminal networks. named in the OCCRP story, have remained silent since publi-
A key player appears to have been Tian Hang, also known as cation of the article.
Hunter Tian, a 53-year-old Chinese hotelier who lives in Palau
and enjoys links to some of its most powerful citizens, OCCRP Palau’s ‘undesirable’ list
reports. Property registry documents show that one of the In his response to the revelations, President Whipps high-
buildings housing the online gambling operations was leased lighted the government’s efforts to combat illegal activities
by a company Tian ran, and of which he was part owner. by foreigners. He stated the 230 names on the “undesirable
Tian has also been involved in apparent CCP influence ef- alien” list released last year were mostly Chinese individuals
forts in the country. According to Chinese media reports, he who were caught conducting illegal online gambling activities.
headed the Palau Overseas Chinese Federation, a body aimed “The issue is that we don’t want criminal elements coming
at organising Chinese expatriates in the Pacific nation under into our island. That’s the reason we issued the “undesirable
the CCP umbrella. alien” list, which prohibits them from entering the country
Palau’s government earlier this year added Tian to its list of again.
230 “undesirable aliens,” most of whom are Chinese citizens. “Many of them were involved in online gambling, which
He remains in the country and is currently fighting his designa- leads to human trafficking and other issues in the country.
tion, which would bar him from re-entering Palau if he leaves. That is one of the government’s efforts to ensure that people
Tian did not respond to questions sent by OCCRP. are protected.
“Also we’re tidying up our border protection by getting a
Broken Tooth bites more advanced scanning system in place at the airport that
OCCRP also reported on the activities of ‘Broken Tooth’, helps track the arriving passengers.”
noting his triad affiliations: “Rising to prominence in the 1990s President Whipps also disclosed that U.S. Federal authori-
as the head of the 14K triad in Macau, Broken Tooth — whose ties have been assisting Palau in upgrading their border con-
real name is Wan Kuok Koi — was imprisoned there for more trol and monitoring for money laundering activities. He added
than a decade on charges including loan sharking, weapons that Palau is taking steps to protect its image internationally,
possession, and membership in an organised crime group. as money laundering could result in sanctions by donor coun-
Since his release in 2012, he has rebranded himself as a CCP tries and international bodies.
loyalist — without forswearing his triad affiliations,” the “Over the past few years, the U.S. Secret Service, Treasury
organisation reported. Department, and OIC (Officer in Charge) the Airforce provided
“According to the U.S. Treasury, which sanctioned Wan in training and upgraded the skills of the Customs and Border
2020, he remains both an organised crime boss and a mem- Protection Office, FIC [Financial Institutions Commission], and
ber of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference FIU [Financial Intelligence Unit].”
(CPPCC), a top-level political advisory body that forms part of Such assistance, Whipps said, helps Palau to better under-
the CCP’s “United Front” foreign influence efforts. stand these kinds of activities to protect itself. He added that
“China’s government has strongly denied that Wan is a CP- Palau doesn’t want to be dragged into human trafficking cases
PCC member. Wan has also denied it, describing the U.S. ac- because it’s on the U.S. State Department Tier 2 Watch List.
cusations as a “smear campaign,” the organisation reported. Palau has limited resources and no visa application process
According to immigration records obtained by OCCRP, Wan in place to know ahead of time who is coming.
travelled to Palau in 2018 and 2019 to set up a branch of the “We don’t have that capability,” the President noted.
Hongmen Association there, telling Hong Kong media that, He is not convinced however that connections were deliber-
“the Hongmen Association would be used to build and run a ately orchestrated by Beijing.
Hongmen-themed resort in Palau that would include a casino “Of course, there will always be criminal elements within a
and Hongmen-branded alcohol and cigarettes. Payments country’s population but to say that the Chinese government
would be handled using a cryptocurrency called “Hong Coin.” encouraged them is a little bit of a stretch,” he added.
A white paper about the currency written by one of Wan’s
companies specifically mentioned its usefulness in online The original OCCRP report by Bernadette Carreon (OCCRP),
gambling.” Aubrey Belford (OCCRP), and Martin Young (OCCRP): https://
OCCRP also obtained records showing Palau’s former post- islandsbusiness.com/news-break/inside-the-chinese-commu-
master general, Congressman Timothy Sinsak, as “signing on nist-party-palau/
as directors of Wan’s local Hongmen Association.”
Sinsak has since told local media that they did not know editor@islandsbusiness.com

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