Thai Authorities Issue Arrest Warrant for Chinese Crypto Scam Suspect Wang Yicheng

Thai authorities have issued an arrest warrant for Chinese businessman Wang Yicheng over alleged involvement in transnational crypto-investment fraud and money laundering through illegal cryptocurrency mining.

The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) alleges that Wang, a former leader of the Thai-Asia Economic Exchange Trade Association, was part of a network that laundered millions of dollars from scams and online gambling using illicit crypto mining operations.

A Reuters investigation in 2023 found that an account in Wang's name received at least $9.1 million between 2021 and 2022 from an account linked to 'pig-butchering' scams, in which victims are deceived into fraudulent crypto investments.

The DSI says it uncovered the network while investigating illegal crypto mining operations that illicitly used over $28 million worth of electricity, one of the largest such cases in recent years.