On April 21, a new report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) showed that transnational criminal groups from East and Southeast Asia are rapidly expanding their operations globally, using illegal cryptocurrency mining as a "powerful tool" for laundering billions of dollars in illegal proceeds.
The report, titled "Tipping Point: Global Impact of Scam Centers, Underground Banks, and Illegal Online Markets in Southeast Asia," documented how these criminal groups have penetrated regions with weak regulatory oversight, such as Zambia, Nigeria, Tonga, and the Middle East.
The report's authors stated that these criminal groups' activities are becoming increasingly diverse, no longer limited to fraud and trafficking. They have established sophisticated online ecosystems, including unauthorized cryptocurrency exchanges, crypto messaging tools, and stablecoins, to drive an industrial-scale fraud economy.
The report noted that Huione Guarantee (recently renamed Haowang) is one of the central hubs of this underground economy. Since 2021, this platform based in Cambodia has had over 970,000 users and $24 billion in cryptocurrency flow, becoming a one-stop shop for money laundering, false identity, and fraud services. As law enforcement pressure increases, many services are now offered on Telegram. The platform has also launched its own stablecoin, blockchain, cryptocurrency trading platform, and online gambling products, aimed at "circumventing government control".
