A Thai and Chinese police collaboration led to two arrests and the seizure of $2.5 million worth of Tether’s USDT stablecoin, the investigators said.
The stablecoin holdings were obtained through a large-scale scam operation, according to a recent report by local English-language news outlet Khaosod English. The arrests were carried out on Feb. 5, with the two Chinese nationals having reportedly resisted arrest and attempting to delete data of their phones.
The suspects, 29-year-old Ye Wanyou and 30-year–old Li Weijie, were apprehended at a luxury residence. There, investigators also seized $44,550 worth of assets. Further investigations in collaboration with Chinese authorities led to the freezing of $2.5 million worth of USDT.
A Tether spokesperson told Decrypt that “with Tether, every action is online, every transaction is traceable, every asset can be seized, and every criminal can be caught.”
The company representative further highlighted that the fact the perpetrators were caught and their USDT holdings seized, “is testament to the traceability and apprehension of criminals and their illicit use of USDT.”
Collaboration with Chinese law enforcement also led to evidence suggesting that the suspects were involved in human trafficking operations along the Thai border. Authorities also located potential offices of the operations in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and uncovered fraudulent product sales in Thailand.
Thai Police Lieutenant General Siam Boonsom said that the two men were charged with public fraud. Authorities are also opposing bail and the investigation is still ongoing, with possible accomplices yet to be arrested.
This is not the first scam operation outside of China with the involvement of Chinese nationals.
In mid-December 2024, the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested nearly 800 people nationwide in connection to crypto romance scams, with Chinese having a strong presence in the operation.
Among the arrested were 148 Chinese, 40 Filipinos, two Kharzartans, one Pakistan and one Indonesian, police said. In February, Hong Kong police have also intercepted over $3.37 million (HK$34 million) in scam proceeds as part of an elaborate operation targeting victims through the use of artificial intelligence.
Edited by Stacy Elliott.