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Southeast Asia based scam networks stole between $88.3 billion and $114.1 billion from victims in the Asia Pacific in 2025. The United Nations reported the figures this week.A good chunk of that money flowed through crypto. That’s from a threat assessment released Tuesday by the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The agency says the industry is outpacing police efforts to keep up with it.<h3 id="span-style-font-weight-400-scam-syndicates-merge-into-a-114-billion-franchise-span">Scam syndicates merge into a $114 billion franchise</h3>UNODC says the region’s syndicates used to have single territories and single specialties. Now they have woven together into one transnational network. Groups sell services to each other on shared infrastructures. Money laundering, fraud, human trafficking, and data harvesting are all separate departments plugged into the same system.Delphine Schantz, the UNODC regional representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, <a href="https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/press/releases/2026/July/new-unodc-report-reveals-scale-of-south-east-asias-ever-more-interconnected-criminal-economy.html" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">compared</a> the setup to “corporate franchising” in a statement that accompanied the report.The losses “outstrip the GDP of several countries in the region,” the report said. It describes a criminal economy that is less of a patchwork of gangs and more of an integrated industry.The $88.3 billion to $114.1 billion range for 2025 is at least three times the $18 billion to $37 billion the UN estimated for 2023. The <a href="https://www.unodc.org/roseap/uploads/documents/Publications/2026/TOCTA_South-East_Asia_2026.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">report</a> said the jump was due to “the dramatic scaling of this criminal economy.” China, South Korea, and Taiwan all reported billions in losses. The past two years have been the roughest for them.Previously, syndicates focused mostly on Chinese speakers, but now their reach has widened. They could pitch new audiences using AI translation tools. Recruiters are still seeking staff in English, German, Polish, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, French, Swedish, and Norwegian. At least 80 countries and territories have people turning up inside compounds across the Mekong region.<h3 id="span-style-font-weight-400-compounds-run-from-cambodia-and-myanmar-as-police-fall-behind-span">Compounds run from Cambodia and Myanmar as police fall behind</h3>According to <a href="https://www.cryptopolitan.com/cambodia-north-korea-state-crypto-crimes/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">reports</a>, the operations have a regional base in Cambodia and Myanmar. In fortified compounds, workers, some willing and some trafficked, run fake romance and crypto investment schemes. This method is often called “pig butchering.” The stolen money is washed on the blockchain.Crypto is not just the vehicle. UNODC situates the scam centers in a larger ecosystem. Methamphetamine trafficking, child sexual exploitation, and real estate investment are also part of that ecosystem. It all goes through established trade channels and hides behind cryptocurrencies, the report said.UNODC is blunt in its messaging to law enforcement that raids alone are not cutting it. Kingpins are arrested. They’re being extradited, but operations keep running anyway.Over the last year, several alleged network bosses have been shipped from Cambodia to China. That came after Washington and London imposed sanctions on firms and individuals linked to the trade.But many centers went on. Schantz warned of a thin line between trafficked victims and people who leave with fresh criminal skills. Some of them return home and tap into existing networks in Africa and the Balkans.The agency asked regional police to undertake specialized crypto training so that they can track and confiscate on-chain proceeds. INTERPOL’s operation First Light 2026 covered 97 countries from January to April.Cryptopolitan previously <a href="https://www.cryptopolitan.com/interpol-global-scam-crackdown/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">reported</a> that police arrested 5,811 people and froze $293 million. In one instance, a 20-year-old suspect in Thailand moved more than $122.5 million in romance scam funds through his wallet in ten months. The money was laundered via cross-chain token swaps to break the trail between blockchains.If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. <a href="https://www.cryptopolitan.com/newsletters/?utm_source=cp&amp;utm_medium=web&amp;utm_campaign=inlineAds" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Stay there with our newsletter</a>.

UNODC says Southeast Asia crime networks stole $114 billion via crypto in 2025

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