Organized crime groups in Southeast Asia exploit cryptocurrencies, creating their own coins and exchanges for large-scale money laundering. The UNODC report details how platforms like Huione Guarantee facilitate billions in fraud, while industrialised cybercrime operations in the region engineer complex scams. Law enforcement efforts have resulted in multiple busts, highlighting a global expansion of these illicit activities.
Organized crime groups in Southeast Asia are increasingly harnessing cryptocurrency to expand their operations. A recent report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reveals that these gangs are no longer limited to using existing crypto platforms; they are creating bespoke financial frameworks to facilitate money laundering. This innovation allows them to operate with greater invisibility.
The report highlights notable developments, such as the Huione Guarantee platform (now Haowang), which has processed over $24 billion in potentially fraudulent crypto transactions since its inception. Located in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, it has amassed over 970,000 users and a network of numerous vendors. Alarmingly, it has introduced its own cryptocurrency products, including a trading platform and a US dollar-backed stablecoin to elude regulatory scrutiny.
The UNODC expresses concern over the establishment of scam centres in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos, where cybercrime has become industrialised through the amalgamation of blockchain technology and AI. Upscale fraud schemes, including phishing and investment scams, are reportedly generating billions annually in these regions. Notably, major “pig butchering” syndicates have proliferated locally, leading to significant law enforcement actions that have yielded hundreds of arrests across various nationalities involved in cyber fraud.
In recent months, multiple raids have exposed and dismantled these cybercrime operations. Hong Kong authorities apprehended 27 individuals linked to an AI-driven crypto romance investment scam, where victims lost upwards of $46 million. Likewise, a crackdown in Nigeria led to the arrest of 792 individuals at a suspected hub for a grand-scale crypto romance scam.
