Thailand Arrest Warrant Issued for Chinese Crypto Scammer Wang Yicheng

Thailand has issued an arrest warrant for Chinese businessman Wang Yicheng over alleged involvement in a network that laundered money from scams and online gambling through illegal cryptocurrency mining.

The warrant was issued by Thailand's Department of Special Investigation (DSI) in November, but it wasn't until this week that the DSI confirmed the move, saying Wang had been charged with theft and under the Computer Crimes Act.

The agency claims Wang used a network of industrial compounds staffed partly by trafficking victims to generate billions of dollars annually through illegal crypto mining operations. The DSI says Wang was part of a group of Chinese investors who allegedly used this method to launder proceeds from scams and online gambling.

The U.S. Department of Justice seized around $500,000 in cryptocurrency from an account in Wang's name last year, saying funds stolen from a Massachusetts victim were traced there.