Binance assists Royal Thai Police in massive crypto scam crackdown, leading to recovery of over $270M

Binance, the world’s leading blockchain ecosystem and digital asset infrastructure provider, recently assisted the Royal Thai Police in two primary operations to dismantle criminal networks engaged in crypto scams.

According to a Binance blog post, these significant enforcement actions, marked by the arrest of principal members and substantial asset seizures, underline Binance’s commitment to buttressing user security and upholding regulatory compliance in the digital-asset ecosystem.

In the first of these operations, codenamed ‘Trust No One,’ Binance’s Investigations team reportedly worked closely with the U.S. Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) and the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) of the Royal Thai Police.

Their target was a criminal ring behind a ‘pig butchering’ scam – a hybrid investment-romance fraud that impacts novice investors. The fraudsters cultivated trust with victims, drawing them into fraudulent investment platforms, and then displayed fictitious profits to induce further investments. The collaboration resulted in the arrest of five key members of this criminal enterprise and the confiscating of assets valued at around THB 10 billion ($277M).

Binance reportedly said that, according to the CCIB, over 3,200 victims have since sought compensation. Binance’s role in this operation was highlighted at a CCIB press conference and award ceremony held on Sept. 18, 2023, where the Inspector of the High-Tech Crime Division, Police Lieutenant Colonel Thanatus Kangruambutr, expressed appreciation for Binance’s significant contribution to disrupting this criminal operation.

Binance also reportedly helped unravel a large-scale crypto fraud orchestrated by a vast network of transnational entities in a separate operation. The probe led to the arrests of numerous suspects across various Thai provinces, like Bangkok, Samut Prakan, and Udon Thani, with the assistance of over 200 Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) officers. The seizure of ill-gotten assets, including luxury residences, top-tier vehicles, and cash, was made possible through Binance’s crucial intelligence.

As Tigran Gambaryan, Binance’s Head of Financial Crime Compliance, stated,

“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.”

With an industry-leading global compliance and investigations team comprising regulators, senior investigators from distinguished blockchain analysis firms, and law enforcement agents, Binance has made considerable strides in fortifying its compliance capabilities.

Over the past three years, Binance claims to have fulfilled and assisted in over 103,000 law enforcement requests, testifying to its commitment to promoting a safer and trustworthy digital-asset ecosystem.