Crypto exchange Binance revealed on June 13 that its Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) supported Philippine law enforcement in dismantling a sophisticated kidnapping-for-ransom operation involving $3.75 million laundered through cryptocurrency. The criminals moved ransom payments through casino junket operators before dispersing the funds across digital-asset channels. Binance’s cooperation enabled investigators to identify suspects and track illicit fund flows on the blockchain.
Binance CEO Richard Teng commented on social media platform X on June 13:
When crypto is misused, we step up. Our team worked with Philippine authorities to trace a $3.75M crypto ransom, identifying suspects and flows via our intelligence tools.
The Philippine National Police’s Anti-Cybercrime Group encountered challenges in tracing the layered transactions due to the involvement of private junket operators—entities that manage travel and betting arrangements for high-stakes gamblers. These operators served as intermediaries, helping obfuscate the financial trail before the funds reached crypto wallets. A law enforcement official underscored the importance of Binance’s support: “The ransom funds were fragmented across several addresses before ultimately reaching crypto wallets. Binance’s prompt assistance was crucial in helping us advance the investigation.”
In addition to providing analytics, Binance disrupted the laundering operation by immobilizing associated assets. The crypto exchange stated:
Our team also froze over USD $3.5 million in related crypto assets, disrupting the network’s financial infrastructure. Lin was later arrested and pleaded guilty in a U.S. federal court to narcotics conspiracy, money laundering, and distributing misbranded drugs.
Binance noted that similar efforts had assisted in dismantling cybercriminal networks in Thailand and Malaysia. While digital currencies present new challenges to global enforcement, crypto supporters argue that blockchain transparency offers law enforcement novel ways to detect and disrupt illicit finance.
免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。
