Southeast Asia scam gangs stealing billions face US crackdown: Treasury
Washington is escalating the battle against Southeast Asia's scam centres, by going after the people, money, technology and political protection that allow them to thrive. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that Washington will use its financial power to disrupt criminal networks that have stolen billions of dollars from Americans. “Scam centres in Southeast Asia steal billions of dollars…
The Biden Administration is intensifying its efforts to combat criminal networks operating out of Southeast Asia that have stolen billions from American victims. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated that Washington will leverage its financial tools to disrupt these transnational criminal enterprises. "Scam centers in Southeast Asia have stolen billions of dollars from American victims each year," Yellen warned on Thursday as the Treasury sanctioned several Chinese-language financial platforms.
The Chinese government has denied any involvement. The US campaign, coordinated with the Justice Department's Scam Centre Strike Force, includes sanctions, criminal prosecutions, asset seizures and diplomatic pressure. The strike force recently charged two Chinese nationals with running a scam compound in Myanmar and another in Cambodia.
Authorities also seized a Telegram channel used to recruit victims with false job promises. The Justice Department seized 503 fraudulent websites and restrained over $700 million in cryptocurrency linked to scam-centre money laundering. The US strategy aims to treat Southeast Asia's scam compounds as a transnational organized crime, human trafficking and financial security threat, rather than just a consumer fraud problem.
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