The US government, Thai police and the world’s largest crypto exchange platform by volume have just busted a multi-million dollar crypto scam.
In a new post on the company’s blog, crypto exchange Binance says it has helped bring down a criminal network that ran an elaborate scheme targeting novice traders with fake investment platforms.
“The Cybercrime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) of the Royal Thai Police has partnered with Binance and the US Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) to dismantle the criminal ring behind a major pig slaughter scam that affected thousands of people in Thailand.
Armed with intelligence from Binance and HSI, the CCIB arrested five of the group’s main members and seized assets valued at around THB 10 billion ($277 million), which included luxury cars, homes, land and other luxury items. From these events, more than 3,200 victims came forward asking for compensation.”
So-called pig slaughter scams occur when criminals gain the steady trust of victims, encouraging them to deposit money into fake investment platforms, then perpetuate the fraud by presenting false earnings and forcing them to pay additional amounts – including fake tax bills.
As Police Lt. Col. Thanatus Kangruambutr, Inspector of the Cyber Support Unit of the High-Tech Crime Division of Thailand’s Cybercrime Investigation Bureau, stated,
“We appreciate Binance’s significant contribution to dismantling this criminal group. The rise of crypto scams in recent years has resulted in hundreds of millions in financial damages in Thailand.
However, by quickly sharing information with key partners, including the Binance Investigations team, this successful operation resulted in the arrests of the criminals.
Binance remains a key ally in our fight against fraud and cybercrime. We value this partnership and look forward to its continuation.”
