$520M Crypto Scam Exposed: Thai Police Uncover Links to North Korea

Thai law enforcement and blockchain analytics firm Elliptic have uncovered $520 million in suspicious cryptocurrency transactions spanning 32 blockchains. The investigation linked hundreds of victim accounts between January 2022 and October 2025, documenting approximately $14 million in individual losses.

The majority of the illicit volume represents money laundering infrastructure, with the assets USDT, ETH, and BTC being used to obscure transaction origins.

Ethereum, TRON, and Bitcoin were the most heavily used networks, while 'pig butchering' schemes accounted for nearly $200 million in scams. These schemes involve scammers building trust with victims over weeks or months before convincing them to invest in fraudulent platforms.

The investigation revealed connections to North Korean operatives who allegedly targeted Thai victims as part of a significant theft. The scam centers are believed to be operating out of countries neighboring Thailand, particularly Cambodia and Myanmar.