A coordinated international operation involving United States and Chinese authorities arrested at least 276 suspects and shut down nine cryptocurrency investment fraud centers targeting Americans as part of a major crackdown on pig butchering scams that have resulted in millions of dollars in losses.
The operation led by Dubai Police under the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Interior in partnership with the FBI and China’s Ministry of Public Security also seized more than $701 million in cryptocurrency alleged to be tied to money laundering from cryptocurrency scams.
Among those arrested are individuals from Burma and Indonesia who were apprehended by authorities from Dubai and Thailand, with six arrests leading to federal fraud and money laundering charges being unsealed against Thet Min Nyi, Wiliang Awang, Andreas Chandra, Lisa Mariam and two fugitive co-conspirators who allegedly managed, worked for and recruited others to work at three different companies operating several scam centers.
The fraudulent operations involved tricking users into parting with their money through bogus cryptocurrency investments after building trust over time by entering into friendly or romantic relationships, a long-running scheme known as pig butchering or romance baiting.
The scammers promoted investments in cryptocurrencies and assisted victims in setting up accounts and transferring cryptocurrency to investment platforms that unbeknownst to the victims were false, with the alleged scammers touting their own successes and returns to encourage victims to invest more.
The fraudsters also encouraged their victims to borrow money from friends and family and take out loans to be able to invest more, however as soon as the funds were transferred to the platforms the assets were laundered to other cryptocurrency accounts including some belonging to the fraudsters.
The illicit operation is closely intertwined with human trafficking where foreign nationals are coerced into running the scams under slave-like conditions after being recruited with false offers of high-paying jobs at compounds that often rely on physical punishment and torture to force trafficked workers to defraud victims.
