Thai authorities arrested a South Korean citizen accused of assisting a call center operation laundering cryptocurrency into gold worth over 50 million USD; Taiwan simultaneously indicted 14 people in the largest cryptocurrency laundering case in the country.
The case exposes how gangs use USDT to gather victim funds, purchase gold through foreign suppliers, then transfer it back to the organization. Authorities have seized many cryptocurrency accounts, cash, luxury cars, and frozen bank deposits.
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Thailand arrested Han, 33 years old, at Suvarnabhumi Airport, accused of laundering cryptocurrency into gold, scaling 47.3 million USDT in Q1 2024.
Taiwan indicted 14 people, accused of laundering more than 70 million USD, seizing numerous assets including USDT, BTC, TRX, cash, and bank deposits.
Common scheme: promising returns of 30%-50%, initial payments to build trust then blocking withdrawals, legitimizing through a chain of gold purchases and transferring assets abroad.
Who is involved in the arrest in Thailand?
The arrested person is Han, 33 years old, a South Korean citizen, accused of fraud, computer crime, money laundering, and participating in organized crime, according to an arrest warrant issued in February.
Han was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok, after the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) coordinated with the Immigration Bureau. The case originated from a call center operation that started in early 2024, luring victims into 'investment opportunities' promising returns of 30%-50% before locking withdrawals under the pretext of not meeting conditions.
What has Han been accused of in the money laundering operation?
He is suspected of assisting in converting the victim's cryptocurrency into gold through a Korean company, before the gold was transferred back to the gang.
According to the investigation, Han studied in China before working for a Korean company that converts cryptocurrency into gold bars, responsible for the cryptocurrency accounts receiving money from victims, then buying gold from foreign suppliers and transferring it back to the organization.
How did the Thai police seize cryptocurrency accounts?
The TCSD detected Han's entry schedule and coordinated the interception at the checkpoint. Han's phone, containing multiple cryptocurrency accounts linked to the money laundering network, has been seized.
The seizure of phones is seen as key to tracing cash flows and identifying related wallets and exchanges. This is a common measure to preserve digital evidence, assisting in analyzing cryptocurrency transaction chains.
What transaction scale and data have been published?
Authorities estimate that from January to March 2024, accounts controlled by Han processed around 47.3 million USDT, which was later converted into gold.
Each round of money laundering is said to exceed 10 kg of gold, valued at about 1 million USD per transaction. Dozens of complaints sent to the TCSD have led to the investigation and the arrest of 10 suspects beforehand, including 5 accused of money laundering and 5 account holders.
How did Han respond and what is the status of the investigation?
Han denies part of the accusations but remains in detention while Thai police continue to expand the investigation.
Detention is aimed at preventing witness tampering, destroying evidence, and supporting international cooperation, as the gold supply chain and cryptocurrency wallets may involve multiple jurisdictions.
Why do criminals favor laundering money through gold and stablecoins?
Gold has high liquidity, easy global valuation, facilitating cross-border asset transfer; stablecoins like USDT allow for fast money transfers, low fees, and make transactions hard to reverse.
International reports note the risks: the FATF has warned that precious metals are a money laundering channel as they can legitimize sources through invoices and suppliers (FATF, 2015, 2023). Chainalysis indicates that USDT on Tron is often favored by criminals due to low fees and high speed, supporting online fraud schemes (Chainalysis, Crypto Crime Trends 2024).
Who has Taiwan indicted and why is the case considered the largest?
The Shilin District Prosecutor's Office indicted 14 people in Taiwan's largest cryptocurrency laundering case, involving over 1,500 victims and a total illicit amount exceeding 70 million USD.
The defendants face charges of fraud, money laundering, and organized crime. The prosecutor requests the seizure of nearly 40 million USD in illicit assets, reflecting the significant scale of the operation and the damage to domestic victims.
What assets are proposed to be seized in the Taiwan case?
Authorities propose to seize 640,000 USDT, undisclosed amounts of Bitcoin (BTC) and Tron (TRX), over 1.8 million USD in cash, 2 luxury cars, and 3.13 million USD in frozen bank deposits.
This asset conglomerate shows that the operation uses both cryptocurrency and fiat money in parallel, also converting between storage channels to disperse the risk of detection.
How did the group in Taiwan transfer money abroad?
According to the prosecutors, the group transfers money by exchanging cash for foreign currency, buying USDT through the local exchange BiXiang Technology, then transferring assets abroad.
This model leverages domestic exchanges to enter stablecoins, then transfers to offshore wallets, complicating recovery efforts, requiring international judicial cooperation and blockchain tracing.
How does the 30%-50% return scheme work?
The gang builds trust through initial payouts to investors, then increases deposits, blocking withdrawals on the grounds of not meeting requirements.
This is a variant of the high-risk investment appropriation model, targeting the psychology of quick profit-seeking. When the cash flow is large enough, the perpetrator cuts off contact, legitimizing the money source through buying gold or transferring through multiple layers of cryptocurrency.
Quick comparison table of the two cases in Thailand and Taiwan
Below are the highlights to compare the scale, methods, and measures taken by authorities.
Criteria Thailand Taiwan Main Subject Han, 33 years old, South Korean citizen 14 defendants indicted Financial Scale ≈ 47.3 million USDT in Q1 2024; total damage > 50 million USD through gold > 70 million USD in illicit money Method Exchanging USDT for gold, transporting it back to the organization Exchanging cash for foreign currency, buying USDT through BiXiang, transferring abroad Seized Assets Phones containing multiple cryptocurrency accounts 640,000 USDT, BTC, TRX, > 1.8 million USD in cash, 2 luxury cars, 3.13 million USD in deposits Legal Status Arrested under a warrant in February, detained for investigation Indicted, requesting the seizure of nearly 40 million USD
What signs should investors look for to avoid investment traps?
Stay away from promises of 30%-50% returns, requests for additional deposits to unlock withdrawals, forcing transfers to external wallets, and lack of transparent legal information.
If the platform has no license, does not disclose risks, supports requests to convert to USDT/TRX outside the system, or obscures the identity of the team, consider it a high-risk sign. Keep a complete record of transaction history to assist authorities when needed.
What role does international cooperation play in such cases?
Plays a key role because the cash flow, gold, and servers often span multiple countries, requiring mutual legal assistance and data sharing.
Coordination between immigration authorities, technology crime investigation units, and exchanges is necessary for timely freezing to prevent asset dissipation. The FATF's recommendations on monitoring VASP help standardize coordination processes (FATF, 2023).
Frequently Asked Questions
How are USDT, BTC, and TRX used in these cases?
USDT is often a channel for gathering money and quickly transferring value, while BTC/TRX can be used for transit. Authorities rely on blockchain data to trace related wallets.
Why does the gang launder money through gold?
Gold is easily transferable, has high liquidity, can be legitimized with invoices from foreign suppliers, making tracing the cash flow more complex than fiat money.
How to recognize a high-yield fraud model?
Signs include promises of excessively high fixed returns, early payments to build trust, requests for additional deposits, withdrawal locks due to technical reasons or 'not meeting conditions'.
If I am a victim, what should I do?
Stop transactions, preserve evidence (messages, wallet addresses, invoices), report immediately to authorities and notify banks/exchanges to assist in freezing.
What is the TCSD in Thailand?
The TCSD is the Technology Crime Suppression Division of Thailand, responsible for investigating technology crimes, online fraud, and money laundering related to cryptocurrency.
Source: https://tintucbitcoin.com/nguoi-dan-ong-han-quoc-bi-bat-vi-rua-tien-crypto-sang-vang-50-000-000-usd/
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