Latest news with #cryptoscam
Khaleej Times
06-07-2025
- Khaleej Times
Dubai hotelier accused of Dh950 million crypto scam arrested in India
A Dubai hotelier accused of running a fake investment scheme worth over Dh950 million has been arrested in India. Faridabad Police, in the northern Indian state of Haryana, confirmed the arrest to Khaleej Times on Saturday, describing it as a 'big catch'. The 39-year-old suspect, who reportedly ran a four-star hotel in Dubai Marina, was allegedly the key figure behind the HPZ Token scam — a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme that duped thousands of Indians with promises of unrealistically high returns. Khaleej Times is withholding the man's name for legal reasons. He was declared a fugitive economic offender by an Indian court earlier this year — a designation later made public by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The ED said it has identified laundered proceeds of over Rs2.2 billion (Dh956 million) in the HPZ Token case. The suspect allegedly used his Dubai businesses to move illegal funds out of India via payment gateways, then convert them into cryptocurrency, and hand over the crypto to Chinese handlers after taking a cut. 'He was arrested in Delhi's Rohini Sector 11 area and is on police remand,' Faridabad Police PRO Yashpal Yadav told Khaleej Times on Saturday. "It's a big catch." He said the suspect was tracked through a payment gateway account that had received a portion of the defrauded money. 'The bank account was opened with forged credentials,' Yadav added. The accused had reportedly moved to Dubai in 2022, shortly after the ED launched its investigation into the HPZ Token racket. According to Faridabad Police, he returned to India around three weeks ago after the Punjab and Haryana High Court quashed a lookout circular against him but ordered him to cooperate with investigators. Police said the man and his business partner were running a parallel cyber fraud operation alongside their hospitality ventures. 'He kept 30 per cent of the funds and routed the remaining to his Dubai-based partner, who managed the other end of the network,' Yadav said. The arrest follows a complaint filed in January 2024 by a Faridabad-based engineer who was duped in a fake stock market investment scheme promoted on social media. The victim is said to have transferred Dh880,000 to 11 different bank accounts, all linked to the scam. Faridabad Police said the man is the 12th person arrested in the case. Investigators are now trying to locate his associate and three others. 'We are in the process of issuing a lookout circular against his partner so he can be arrested if he enters India,' Yadav said. The HPZ Token scam has emerged as one of India's largest tech-enabled financial frauds. Victims were lured into downloading a mobile app and investing in so-called crypto-mining schemes. Early fake profits were shown to build trust, only for the funds to vanish once larger amounts were invested. The ED has so far frozen or attached assets worth Rs497 crore (Dh216 million) linked to the case and uncovered over 200 shell companies allegedly created by the suspect and his associates to conceal the money trail.
Independent Singapore
05-06-2025
- Business
- Independent Singapore
Philippine tech firm sanctioned by U.S. over $200 million romance scam network
MANILA: Punitive action has been taken by the United States against a Philippine technology corporation located in Bonifacio Global City (BGC) for purportedly playing a vital role in an expansive global online deception scheme called 'pig butchering.' According to a recent SCMP report, Funnull Technology Inc., together with Chinese national Liu Lizhi, was targeted by the U.S. Treasury Department for allegedly supplying the digital set-up used to host more than 332,000 domains associated with bogus cryptocurrency investment sites. 'Pig butchering' scams exposed in global operation According to U.S. representatives, these fake platforms victimised defenceless persons by engaging in illusory online relationships before coercing them into spending money on fake crypto arrangements. Victims lose an average of more than US$150,000, with total losses going beyond US$200 million. 'This is a ruthless, calculated form of exploitation,' said Tammy Bruce, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department. 'We will go after those who misuse virtual currencies and internet services to perpetrate fraud and other crimes.' See also Opponents of coup in Myanmar call for more large-scale protests Tech infrastructure used to evade detection The FBI, which has been probing into Funnull and tracking its movements since January, disclosed that the firm bought bulk IP addresses from key cloud providers and sold them back to defrauders. These were utilised to host con websites and escape exposure by hastily spinning domains and IP addresses. Funnull also received widespread media coverage and in cybersecurity circles after obtaining a JavaScript library extensively used by developers. Soon after, experts at Silent Push and Sansec cautioned that sites using Polyfill code were rerouting users to hostile domains hosted on Funnull's network. The U.S. Treasury noted that Funnull is associated with the common crypto scam websites reported to the FBI and had a 'critical enabling role' in their rampant spread. Liu Lizhi, purportedly one of the overseers of the manoeuvre, controlled inside documents that proved Funnull workers were assigned to distribute domains for use in phishing, fake investment schemes, and gambling activities. Calls for local investigation amid regulatory gaps Funnull, listed with the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission in 2021, has its operations from the 14th floor of the Net Cube Centre in BGC, a government-designated 'cyberpark' giving tax inducements. This has triggered fear among tech regulators and transparency activists. 'This operation was likely based out of a shared or co-working space, which makes it easier to stay under the radar,' said Dominic Ligot of and Data Ethics PH. 'Scam operations often choose prestigious business locations to project legitimacy.' Ligot and other specialists have complained about the absence of strong regulatory implementation in the Philippines, inferring that weak monitoring, exploitation, with a nominal inspection permit sham businesses to thrive. A high-ranking industry insider, speaking incognito, suspected that some government bureaucrats may have been enticed to favour Funnull's business licenses. The source called for the conduct of a thorough inquiry into public officials who approved the firm's registration and operating certificate. See also Police arrest man involved in hotel booking scam Presently, neither the Philippine government nor the city of Taguig has issued statements in response to the U.S. sanctions. The FBI has advised victims to come forward as the investigation continues.
Times
16-05-2025
- Times
Inside the Cambodian scam compound preying on British pensioners
Lights flicker along a damp, shadowy corridor hidden beneath a five-storey casino, where offices with taped-up windows line the passageway and silhouettes of workers hunched over glowing screens are projected through curtains. This is a notorious scam compound, heavily influenced by the Chinese mafia, in Bavet, a city in southern Cambodia on the border with Vietnam. It is one of several near-identical megacomplexes on a single road, hiding dozens of scam businesses where workers are forced to operate fake online profiles for hours without breaks — carrying out romance and cryptoscams on international victims. The majority of these workers, who are trained to target British, American and Australian adults through dating sites and social media platforms, say they were lured into their roles under false
