‘A cancer’: UN warns Asia-based cybercrime syndicates expanding worldwide

Agency says gangs caused $37bn in losses in Asia as they gain new footholds in Africa, South America, and Middle East.

Asian cybercrime syndicates have caused an estimated $37bn in losses in the East and Southeast Asian regions, with the United Nations warning that the reach of the criminal networks is expanding globally.

In a report released on Monday, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) detailed how Chinese and Southeast Asian gangs have been raking in tens of billions of dollars annually targeting victims in an array of cybercrimes, including fake investments, cryptocurrency, romance and other scams.

The criminal organisation have largely operated out of squalid compounds in the border areas of Myanmar, as well as in so-called “special economic zones” designed to attract foreign investment in Cambodia and Laos. They have relied on often trafficked workers forced to work in squalid compounds.

While the report said countries in East and Southeast Asia lost an estimated $37bn to cyber-fraud in 2023, there were “much larger estimated losses” worldwide.

The report warned that the networks have been spreading to South America, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the Pacific Islands.

“We are seeing a global expansion of East and Southeast Asian organized crime groups,” said Benedikt Hofmann, UNODC acting regional representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

“This reflects both industry growth and a strategy to evade crackdowns in Southeast Asia,” Hofmann said.

‘Spreads like a cancer’

The report said the syndicates have established footholds in African nations, including Zambia, Angola, and Namibia, as well as Pacific island nations, including Fiji and Vanuatu.

They have also expanded their money laundering strategies, forging alliances with South American drug cartels, the Italian mafia, and Irish mobsters, according to the report.

Cryptocurrency mining – typically referring to the creation of new cryptocurrencies and the validation of transactions – has become a key tool for obscuring illicit funds, according to the report.

In one instance, in June 2023, Libyan authorities raided an illegal crypto mining operation in a militia-controlled area, arresting 50 Chinese nationals.

Recent crackdowns in Myanmar, backed by China, also freed about 7,000 trafficked workers.

However, the UN warned that while enforcement disrupts operations temporarily, the syndicates have proven adept at adapting.

“It spreads like a cancer,” said Hofmann. “Authorities treat it in one area, but the roots never disappear, they simply migrate.”

New technologies have further complicated the situation, with criminal networks operating self-contained digital ecosystems, using encrypted messaging, payment apps, and cryptocurrencies to evade law enforcement, the report said.

The UN agency further warned of “potentially irreversible spillover has taken place…leaving criminal groups free to pick, choose, and move … as needed”.

It urged countries to collaborate and intensify efforts to disrupt criminal networks’ financing.