Myanmar junta dissolves scam-linked Fully Light Group

The Irrawaddy

Myanmar’s military regime has formally dissolved Fully Light Group, a Kokang-based conglomerate long tied to cyberfraud and cross-border crime, in a move that strikes at one of its most entrenched business allies.

The announcement, published in the junta-run Myanmar Gazette, confirmed the company was struck off on 11 February following a shareholders’ resolution. Creditors and debtors have until 13 March to settle claims. Once valued in the billions of dollars, Fully Light operated more than 30 subsidiaries spanning gems, hotels, tourism, rubber, real estate and cross-border trade.

The group’s collapse follows years of mounting pressure from Beijing. Chinese authorities have arrested senior members of the Liu family, which controlled the empire, accusing them of running online scam compounds in northern Shan State. Liu Zhengxiang, the clan patriarch and former Kokang militia leader, was handed over to Chinese police in Naypyitaw earlier this year. His son, Liu Jikai, is now overseeing the dissolution but has so far avoided prosecution.

Founded in 1992, Fully Light grew into one of the most powerful business empires in northern Shan, with investments stretching into Mandalay, China and Cambodia. It was also accused of funnelling financial support to Myanmar’s military regime after the 2021 coup. The United States Institute of Peace has described the group as a key financial backer of the junta.

Investigators say Fully Light provided cover for telecom-fraud enclaves, casinos and sex-entertainment venues, earning hundreds of millions from scams, gambling and extortion. At its height, the syndicate employed tens of thousands in Laukkai, where scam bosses were reportedly evacuated by helicopter during the Brotherhood Alliance’s offensive in 2023.

China’s crackdown has been sweeping. Authorities say more than 57,000 nationals linked to Kokang fraud have been arrested, with thousands already sentenced. Trials of rival Kokang clans have led to life sentences and even executions, while proceedings against the Liu family continue.

For Myanmar’s junta, the dissolution of Fully Light is a significant blow. The Liu clan’s decades-long grip on Kokang’s economy and armed networks is crumbling, leaving one of the region’s most entrenched criminal empires in ruins. It also underscores Beijing’s growing influence over northern Shan, where cyberfraud and illicit trade have become matters of national security.

As the Liu empire collapses, the question now is whether the junta can withstand the loss of a powerful ally—or whether China’s campaign against cross-border crime will further erode the regime’s already fragile economic base.

-2026-03-06