Binance Lends Hand In Cracking Down On Crypto Scams In Thailand

Binance, one of the world's largest centralized crypto exchange platforms by trading volume, has lent a hand to Thailand police in cracking down on criminal networks involved in cryptocurrency scams.

The exchange said its investigations team helped Thai authorities in two major operations that led to the dismantling of crime syndicates, as well as arrests and seizure of assets.

In the first operation, codenamed "Trust No One," the investigations team collaborated with the U.S. Homeland Security Investigation and Thailand's Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) of the Royal Thai Police to bust the criminal group behind the Pig Butchering scam that victimized a lot of unsuspecting people, Binance said in a blog post.

Pig Butchering was an investment romance scam that usually targets novice investors by cultivating a relationship of trust and romance to lead them to invest in fraudulent investments.

Operation "Trust No One" led to the arrest arrested five key members of the criminal ring. They also seized around $277 million in funds.

"Recently, the Binance Investigations team has collaborated extensively with Thai law enforcement, responding to their requests related to cybercrime investigations, prosecutions, and asset seizures. In a notable case, the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) of the Royal Thai Police teamed up with Binance and U.S. Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) to dismantle a criminal ring behind a significant pig butchering scam that had impacted thousands of people in Thailand," Binance wrote.

"Armed with intelligence from Binance and HSI, the CCIB arrested five principal members of this group and confiscated assets valued at around THB 10 billion ($277M), which included luxury cars, homes, land, and other upscale items," it added.

More than 3,200 victims reportedly came forward seeking compensation following the operation.

"We appreciate Binance's significant contribution to the disruption of this criminal group. The rise of crypto scams in recent years has resulted in financial damage of hundreds of millions in Thailand. Yet, through prompt information exchange with key partners, including the Binance Investigations team, this successful operation resulted in the arrests of the criminals. Binance remains an essential ally in our combat against scams and cybercrimes. We value this partnership and look forward to continuing it," said Police Lieutenant Colonel Thanatus Kangruambutr, inspector of the cyber support unit in the high-tech crime division at Thailand's Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau.

Binance also helped crack down on a large-scale crypto fraud scheme operated by a huge transnational network. It led to the arrests of suspects from many provinces, including Bangkok, Samut Prakan and Udon Thani. Authorities confiscated assets, including luxury homes, vehicles and cash worth around $440,000.

"Binance played a pivotal role in unraveling another large-scale crypto scam orchestrated by an expansive network of transnational criminal entities. This probe culminated in the apprehension of suspects spread across 30 sites in Bangkok, Samut Prakan, and Udon Thani provinces, employing over 200 officers from the CIB. Beyond supplying the police with crucial intelligence that facilitated these arrests, Binance also dispatched an investigator to Thailand to aid in securing the arrest warrant. This operation empowered the Royal Thai Police to confiscate illicit assets, including 16 luxury residences, 12 top-tier vehicles, and THB 16M ($440,000) in cash," Binance shared.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Panuphat Kittiphan, deputy superintendent of sub-division 1 at the Technology Crime Suppression Division, thanked the Binance team for providing "the necessary information, enabling us to develop the case profile and secure an arrest warrant."

"We draw immense pride from the collaborative actions of the Binance Investigations team and the Royal Thai Police. Our sustained effort brought tangible results, reiterating how genuine security is not hemmed in by geographical limitations. Our team-up with Thai law enforcement champions our mutual commitment to the protection of users and the advancement of cybersecurity. We will persist in partnering with authorities across the globe, ensuring we do our part to restore trust in the digital-asset ecosystem," Tigran Gambaryan, Binance's head of financial crime compliance, said.

In another blog post in May, Binance said criminality was a "topic we take very seriously" and pointed out that since bad actors do not register their accounts under the names of criminal organizations, it works with authorities and "leverages information that is only available to them in order to identify individuals operating accounts for illicit organizations."

"Our team and systems have improved significantly over the past several years and we remain committed to leading the industry in efforts to keep bad actors entirely out of crypto," it added. "This tireless effort will not stop at Binance as we are proud of our team's work with law enforcement around the globe to make the world a safer place."