The U.S. Department of Justice takes coordinated actions against Southeast Asian criminal organizations, freezing over $700 million in cryptocurrency.

Golden Finance reports that on April 24th, according to an official announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice, the DOJ’s “Fraud Center Strike Team” announced a series of coordinated actions against Southeast Asian criminal organizations: charging two Chinese management personnel, Huang Xingshan and Jiang Wenjie, who work at the “Shunda Scam Center” in Myanmar, with forcing trafficked laborers to engage in cryptocurrency investment scams, and they have been arrested in Thailand; seizing a Telegram channel with over 6,000 followers used to lure individuals to Cambodia scam centers for forced labor; simultaneously seizing 503 scam domains disguised as legitimate investment platforms.
On the financial front, the team has frozen over $701 million in cryptocurrency suspected of being related to scam money laundering, and through the “Operation Level Up” initiative, notified 8,935 victims, estimating potential recoveries of about $563 million. Additionally, the U.S. State Department announced a reward of up to $10 million for information related to the “Taichang Scam Center” in Myanmar; the Treasury Department also imposed sanctions on relevant individuals and entities in Cambodia.
According to FBI data, losses from cryptocurrency investment scams in the U.S. reached $7.2 billion in 2025, a 24% increase compared to 2024.