How Binance helped Thailand dismantle a crypto-crime ring

According to a blog post, the global cryptocurrency exchange Binance has been collaborating with law enforcement in Thailand to combat criminal mafias using cryptocurrencies for money transfers. The Binance investigation team assisted the Royal Thai Police in two operations, leading to the arrest of key participants and the confiscation of assets.

First case

The first case involved a joint operation by Binance, the Royal Thai Police, and the American Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) aimed at apprehending those responsible for "pig butchering" fraud. The group targeted inexperienced investors, luring them to invest in fraudulent investment platforms. The scammers then showed fictitious returns on initial investments to convince clients to invest more assets, after which they took all the money. Thanks to valuable information provided by Binance and HSI, the Thai police arrested five key members of the criminal syndicate. Assets worth $277 million were seized, including luxury cars and real estate.

The second case

In addition, Binance assisted in uncovering another major cryptocurrency fraud linked to transnational criminal organizations.

Binance also stated that it has assisted in resolving over 103,000 similar requests from around the world in the past three years.

However, in 2023, Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) faced serious legal issues. Earlier this year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against the exchange for violating American securities laws.

In the latest development, a class-action lawsuit has been filed against the American division of Binance.US and CZ, accusing them of intentionally harming their competitor FTX, which went bankrupt last year.

Binance is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, with a trading volume of over $5 billion per day, according to CoinGecko. Any risks to its stability could have serious consequences for the entire cryptocurrency market.