The encrypted messaging platform Telegram has frequently been used to share deepfake porn content
Telegram is once again under scrutiny as a new UNODC report unraveled the platform's alleged facilitation of cybercrime group operations in Southeast Asia. AFP

KEY POINTS

  • The UNODC report revealed that Telegram has allowed unlicensed VASPs to promote and transfer stolen $USDT
  • The report also alleged that an underground marketplace established by the former Kokang BGF used Telegram
  • Crypto drainers have also allegedly integrated their services on Telegram in the form of instant messaging

Cybercrime syndicates across Southeast Asia are continuously conducting large-scale illicit activities, with cryptocurrencies largely being at center of transactions. A new United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report published Monday unravels the alleged role that popular encrypted messaging platform Telegram has played in such activities.

Telegram Allowed Unlicensed VASPs to Operate on 'Dirty' $USDT: UNODC

"Extensive monitoring and analysis of hundreds of high-risk VASPs (virtual asset service providers) operating within various regional underground marketplaces online, and particularly Telegram, reveals many unlicensed service providers offering conversion services to fiat currency, also known as an off-ramp, with advertisements explicitly targeting 'dirty' or 'black' USDT (Tether stablecoin)," the UNODC report said.

The VASPs "actively" promote 24-hour self-service redemption through Telegram and other platforms, with a majority of the providers stating that they specialize in "selling large volumes of USDT stolen from overseas," as per the report.

Telegram Linked to Myanmar's BGF

The UNODC mentioned Fully Light Guarantee, a "large-scale Telegram underground" marketplace in Southeast Asia that was allegedly established by a large company owned and operated by the former Kokang Border Guard Force (BGF). The BGF is a group of militarized units of former ethnic insurgents in Myanmar that were later absorbed by the army.

According to the UNODC, Fully Light Guarantee has an integrated crypto-based online gambling operation and has operations in "cyber-enabled fraud," as well as OTC (over-the-counter" activities.

The Kokang BGF has since appeared to have ceased operations but it maintains a "small yet active Telegram presence" which indicates that it may still be operating under a new name, the UNODC said.

"Several platforms controlled by powerful and influential regional criminal networks have now emerged, particularly on Telegram," the report added.

Drainers Active on Telegram?

Aside from cyberfraud as pushed by large cybercrime groups in Southeast Asia, the UNODC also revealed crypto drainers are using Telegram, which is widely utilized by many crypto communities.

"As with infostealers, drainer integration with Telegram has also been increasingly observed, allowing actors to receive logs from the drainer in the form of an instant message," the report noted.

Report Adds to Telegram's Woes

The report's publication came at a time when Telegram's CEO, Pavel Durov, is under scrutiny in Europe following his arrest in France late in August. He has since been released on bail but has been prohibited from leaving the country.

Durov is facing multiple charges over his alleged complicity in Telegram's purported facilitation of "illegal transactions." Last month, Durov implemented new rules on the platform, including the disabling of new media uploads to Telegraph, Telegram's blogging tool, which Durov said appears to have abused by anonymous actors.

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