Crypto crime laundered billions with custom coins and exchanges

Organised crime groups in Southeast Asia have escalated their use of cryptocurrency by creating their own coins, exchanges, and blockchain networks to launder billions of dollars, according to a United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report.

The report highlights that criminal syndicates are no longer limited to exploiting existing crypto infrastructure but are now building tailored financial ecosystems to avoid detection.

One example is Huione Guarantee, a Chinese-language platform headquartered in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Now rebranded as Haowang, it has processed over $24 billion in crypto linked to fraud over the past four years and has grown to nearly one million users with thousands of connected vendors.

The platform recently launched its own cryptocurrency exchange, trading application, online gambling platform, blockchain network called Xone Chain, and a US dollar-backed stablecoin designed to evade government controls.

The UNODC report warns that scam centers in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos have industrialised cybercrime by combining blockchain technology, artificial intelligence, and stablecoins.

These centers operate complex fraud schemes such as phishing, investment scams, and “pig butchering,” generating billions annually.

Law enforcement raids over the past year have resulted in hundreds of arrests across Southeast Asia, including nationals from China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

In October 2024, Hong Kong police arrested 27 people involved in an AI deepfake crypto romance scam that defrauded victims of more than $46 million.

Similarly, Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency arrested 792 individuals in December 2024 linked to a large crypto romance scam.

The report emphasises that syndicates issue their own stablecoins and operate private exchanges to bypass global financial regulations and Anti-Money Laundering controls.

Huione Guarantee also announced the launch of a Huione Visa card in February 2025.

While Southeast Asia remains a central hub, these crypto-enabled criminal networks are expanding into Africa, South America, and the Pacific.

The UNODC urged governments worldwide to close regulatory loopholes to address the growing global impact of these underground banking networks.