Digital Slavery, Nickel Downstreaming, and Timber Grabbing: 2024’s Best Investigative Stories in Southeast Asia

Ongoing conflicts in several countries in the Southeast Asia region, especially in Myanmar and Cambodia , have allowed transnational cybercrimes to flourish as international criminal networks exploit instability.

“Scam factories” often based in border areas such as the Myanmar -Thailand border, draw thousands of young people with the promise of jobs, who then become trapped in a form of modern slavery orchestrated by global crime networks.

The UN estimates that 120,000 people are trapped in scam compounds in Southeast Asia .

Nickel Downstreaming is a set of government policies intending to increase domestic nickel refining, which has dramatically raised nickel export values and, with it, Indonesia ’s revenue.

The Sagea River , the lifeline of the community, has turned a murky color and has been polluted by heavy metals and other hazardous substances.

Land conversion has also triggered major environmental disasters, such as floods.

Report: 95% of the plantation land in Panang is being developed by corporations with political or royal ownership links.

Report called on the government to conduct further investigations into the handling of plantation approvals and better enforcement of environmental protections.

Narasi documentary looked into how politicians exploited the Rohingya refugee issue to gain public support ahead of the February 2024 presidential election.