South Korean police referred 23 suspects on money laundering charges tied to a Cambodia-based phishing operation that moved $11.1 million in USDT between February 2024 and April 2025, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's crime investigation division. The operation allegedly laundered proceeds by purchasing USDT, transferring it across domestic and overseas exchanges, then converting it to foreign currency or won for a fee. Chainalysis warns that Southeast Asian scam compound networks remain a persistent concern despite international enforcement efforts, with criminal groups demonstrating resilience by relocating operations and adapting their models as scrutiny increases.
Police Detain Two Suspects and Confiscate $431K in Proceeds
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's crime investigation division detained two key figures identified only as A and B on charges including breaches of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act and the Specific Financial Information Act. The operation also netted 33 additional suspects accused of illegally exchanging $4.1 million (6.3 billion won) in crypto. The alleged ringleader, identified only as C, remains at large and is now the subject of an Interpol Red Notice.
Investigators locked down roughly $431,000 (650 million won) in proceeds through pre-indictment confiscation. Acting on C's orders, the group moved about $11.1 million (16.8 billion won) between February 2024 and April 2025 by buying the USDT stablecoin, bouncing it between domestic and overseas exchanges, then cashing out into foreign currency or won for a fee, police said.
A review of more than 11,300 linked accounts surfaced 265 instances of phishing harm, spanning voice phishing and investment fraud, worth $17 million (25.7 billion won). Police urged ordinary users to tread carefully, warning that "acting as an agent for another person's virtual asset trading or exchanging virtual assets for Korean Won can also be subject to punishment."
Chainalysis Expert Describes Network Resilience and Stablecoin Role
Xue Yin Peh, head of investigative strategy and collections for APAC at Chainalysis, told Decrypt that international scrutiny has produced tangible results against the "persistent problem" surrounding scam compounds and their associated illicit networks. She pointed to record-breaking actions that happened last year, including UK authorities' recovery of 61,000 in Bitcoin and a $15 billion forfeiture tied to the Prince Group, saying the cases represent "a meaningful shift toward dismantling the global financial infrastructure that supports crypto fraud."
Peh said the transnational criminal networks "have demonstrated significant flexibility and resilience," relocating within and beyond Southeast Asia and rewiring their models as scrutiny tightens. They lean on a wider illicit ecosystem of laundering networks, infrastructure, and trafficked labor that she described as "remarkably resilient," with new providers "quickly filling gaps left by enforcement takedowns."
Stablecoins such as USDT remain the preferred vehicle for illicit flows because, as Peh noted, criminals use them "for largely the same reasons legitimate users do": liquidity, portability, and relative price stability. On-chain transactions stay "transparent and traceable," she remarked, and issuers can freeze funds once illicit use surfaces.
Cases like this "certainly can, and already have" strengthened the argument for tighter global oversight of stablecoins, Peh said, adding that stablecoin issuers should be part of the "fraud-prevention front line" and that clearer legal frameworks are needed to help issuers, exchanges, banks, and authorities coordinate when victim funds are at risk.
Interpol and Strike Force Freeze $580M in Regional Scam Operations
In November, Interpol branded scam-compound networks a global transnational threat, and U.S. agencies stood up a multi-agency Scam Center Strike Force the same month to chase the money. The Strike Force has since frozen, seized, and forfeited more than $580 million in crypto tied to networks running out of Burma, Cambodia, and Laos.
Around the same time, Taiwanese prosecutors charged 62 people over links to the network of Cambodian tycoon Chen Zhi, chairman of Prince Group, who was extradited to China earlier this year amid allegations tying his empire to cyber scam networks.
In April, Cambodia advanced its toughest anti-scam law yet by royal decree, threatening compound bosses with up to life behind bars, though analysts cautioned the measure may shunt the trade across borders rather than end it.
FAQ
What did South Korean police charge 23 suspects with in the Cambodia phishing case?
South Korean police referred 23 suspects on charges including breaches of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act and the Specific Financial Information Act for laundering $11.1 million in USDT proceeds from a Cambodia-based phishing operation between February 2024 and April 2025.
How much cryptocurrency did the U.S. Scam Center Strike Force seize from Southeast Asian networks?
The U.S. Scam Center Strike Force has frozen, seized, and forfeited more than $580 million in crypto tied to scam networks operating out of Burma, Cambodia, and Laos since its formation in November.
Why do criminals prefer USDT stablecoins for laundering according to Chainalysis?
Xue Yin Peh of Chainalysis stated that criminals use USDT "for largely the same reasons legitimate users do": liquidity, portability, and relative price stability, though on-chain transactions remain transparent and traceable.
