{"investigation":{"slug":"fincen-pig-butchering-12-7b-alert-september-2026","entity_name":"FinCEN Pig Butchering $12.7B Alert (September 2026)","trust_score":0,"severity_base":null,"score_modifier":-18,"confidence":0.93,"status":"under_investigation","content_type":"investigation","summary":"On September 3, 2026, the U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued Alert FIN-2026-Alert005 and a companion Financial Trend Analysis identifying roughly $12.7 billion in suspected digital asset investment scam ('pig butchering') activity across 33,904 Bank Secrecy Act reports filed between September 2023 and December 2025. The alert describes an industrial-scale criminal ecosystem run largely from Southeast Asian scam compounds, laundering proceeds through stablecoins and Telegram-based 'guarantee marketplaces' such as Huione Guarantee and Xinbi Guarantee, and arrives alongside parallel DOJ/Treasury actions against the Prince Group network led by Chen Zhi. Figures in secondary reporting on marketplace transaction volumes vary by source and should be treated as estimates rather than confirmed totals.","sections":[{"content":"FinCEN, a bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department, issued Alert FIN-2026-Alert005 on September 3, 2026, together with a Financial Trend Analysis (FTA), warning financial institutions about digital asset investment scams operated from overseas 'scam centers,' primarily in Southeast Asia. The alert builds on FinCEN's September 2023 guidance addressing 'pig butchering' schemes and is framed as advancing Executive Order 14390, 'Combatting Cybercrime, Fraud, and Predatory Schemes Against American Citizens.' Gene Lange, performing the duties of Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, stated that 'digital asset investment scams pose one of the most significant fraud threats facing Americans today' and that perpetrators 'exploit both emerging technologies and human vulnerabilities.' The alert instructs institutions to include the keyword 'FIN-2026-SCAMCENTERS' in related Suspicious Activity Reports and encourages voluntary information sharing between institutions under Section 314(b) of the USA PATRIOT Act, which provides safe-harbor liability protection.","heading":"Alert Overview and Regulatory Context","sources":[{"url":"https://www.fincen.gov/news/news-releases/fincen-identifies-nearly-13-billion-linked-suspected-digital-asset-scams","name":"FinCEN Identifies Nearly $13 Billion Linked to Suspected Digital Asset Scams Operated by Overseas Scam Centers","type":"regulatory","credibility":1},{"url":"https://www.financialservicesperspectives.com/2026/09/fincens-13-billion-scam-center-alert-what-banks-need-to-know-about-the-fastest-growing-financial-crime-threat/","name":"FinCEN's $13 Billion Scam Center Alert: What Banks Need to Know","type":"other","credibility":2}],"severity":"high"},{"content":"FinCEN's analysis reviewed 33,904 Bank Secrecy Act reports filed by roughly 1,300 financial institutions between September 8, 2023, and December 31, 2025, identifying about $12.7 billion in financial activity suspected to be tied to digital asset investment scams. Money services businesses, mostly cryptocurrency firms, filed approximately 55% of the reports, covering about $5.5 billion; depository institutions filed about 41% of reports but the largest dollar amount, roughly $6.4 billion; securities firms and other filer types accounted for about $784.5 million. Monthly filings reportedly rose from 590 reports worth $485.7 million in October 2023 to 2,482 reports worth $833.5 million in December 2025, an average month-over-month increase of about 10.9% in report volume and 18% in reported dollar amounts, according to crypto.news's review of the underlying data. FinCEN explicitly cautioned that the $12.7 billion figure is not a confirmed measure of victim losses: totals can include attempted transactions, reports filed by more than one institution for the same transfer, inbound and outbound reporting of the same funds, and amended earlier filings. Part of the apparent increase in filings may also reflect broader adoption of alert terminology introduced in FinCEN's 2023 guidance rather than a proportional rise in actual scam activity.","heading":"Scale and Financial Findings","sources":[{"url":"https://www.fincen.gov/news/news-releases/fincen-identifies-nearly-13-billion-linked-suspected-digital-asset-scams","name":"FinCEN Identifies Nearly $13 Billion Linked to Suspected Digital Asset Scams Operated by Overseas Scam Centers","type":"regulatory","credibility":1},{"url":"https://crypto.news/fincen-flags-12-7b-tied-to-southeast-asia-crypto-investment-scams/","name":"FinCEN flags $12.7B tied to Southeast Asia crypto investment scams","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.cryptopolitan.com/fincen-12-7-billion-crypto-scam-overseas/","name":"FinCEN Links $12.7 Billion in Overseas Crypto Scam Reports","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"high"},{"content":"FinCEN describes the scams reviewed in the alert as overwhelmingly following the 'pig butchering' pattern: operators adopt assumed names and fabricated identities to pose as romantic partners, new friends, or business contacts, cultivating a relationship with the victim, often over weeks or months, before introducing a fraudulent investment opportunity. Victims are directed to websites and mobile applications built to imitate legitimate trading or investment platforms, which display fabricated account balances and fictitious gains intended to encourage larger deposits. FinCEN found that victims frequently drained retirement accounts, home equity lines of credit, second mortgages, and personal loans to continue sending money to scammers. Case examples cited in secondary reporting on the alert include a woman who lost nearly $640,000 from a retirement account and another victim who lost more than $1 million over a six-month period. FinCEN also flagged a risk of self-harm among victims and referred people in crisis to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.","heading":"Scam Methodology: Pig Butchering and Romance Baiting","sources":[{"url":"https://www.fincen.gov/news/news-releases/fincen-identifies-nearly-13-billion-linked-suspected-digital-asset-scams","name":"FinCEN Identifies Nearly $13 Billion Linked to Suspected Digital Asset Scams Operated by Overseas Scam Centers","type":"regulatory","credibility":1},{"url":"https://crypto.news/fincen-flags-12-7b-tied-to-southeast-asia-crypto-investment-scams/","name":"FinCEN flags $12.7B tied to Southeast Asia crypto investment scams","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"high"},{"content":"FinCEN and related reporting describe scam proceeds as converted almost immediately into stablecoins, overwhelmingly USDT, with at least 22 cryptocurrencies appearing across the filings reviewed, Ethereum and USDC also common. Funds are frequently sent from many different victims to the same collection addresses in a short window, then moved through decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols or offshore exchanges to obscure the trail, or funneled through Telegram-based 'guarantee marketplaces' that sell laundering services alongside phishing kits and fake investment-site templates. A Financial Action Task Force report issued the same day as the alert reportedly found that stablecoins accounted for 84% of illicit virtual-asset transaction value globally in 2025, and described a parallel 'digital hawala' system in which informal value-transfer operators settle accounts in stablecoins while coordinating over encrypted messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal. FinCEN's red-flag guidance separately warns of stablecoins marketed to launderers specifically because they claim to be resistant to seizure or freezing.","heading":"Digital Asset Flows and Laundering Techniques","sources":[{"url":"https://crypto.news/fincen-flags-12-7b-tied-to-southeast-asia-crypto-investment-scams/","name":"FinCEN flags $12.7B tied to Southeast Asia crypto investment scams","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.financialservicesperspectives.com/2026/09/fincens-13-billion-scam-center-alert-what-banks-need-to-know-about-the-fastest-growing-financial-crime-threat/","name":"FinCEN's $13 Billion Scam Center Alert: What Banks Need to Know","type":"other","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.cryptopolitan.com/fincen-12-7-billion-crypto-scam-overseas/","name":"FinCEN Links $12.7 Billion in Overseas Crypto Scam Reports","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"high"},{"content":"The alert's backdrop includes the U.S. case against Chen Zhi, founder and chairman of Cambodia-based Prince Holding Group (Prince Group), who was indicted in the Eastern District of New York on wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy charges unsealed around October 14, 2025. The Department of Justice alleges Prince Group ran forced-labor scam compounds across Cambodia — at least ten, according to Treasury — where trafficked workers were held behind high walls and barbed wire, threatened with violence, and compelled to run 'pig butchering' investment fraud using 'phone farms' of thousands of devices. DOJ alleges Chen directed violence against workers, including beatings, while instructing subordinates not to have victims 'beaten to death,' and that proceeds funded luxury purchases including yachts, private jets, and a Picasso painting bought through a New York auction house. DOJ simultaneously filed a civil forfeiture complaint against approximately 127,271 bitcoin, then valued at roughly $15 billion, held across 25 unhosted wallets allegedly controlled by Chen and lieutenants; DOJ describes this as the largest forfeiture action in its history. On-chain analysis by TRM Labs traces most of that bitcoin to a single cluster linked to a December 2020 movement of funds associated with the 'Lubian Hack,' and alleges proceeds were cycled through 'money houses' that converted crypto to fiat and back, recycling it through front companies, casinos, and mining ventures. The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated 146 targets tied to the Prince Group transnational criminal organization on October 14, 2025, including Chen Zhi and 117 affiliated businesses, mostly offshore shell companies, under Executive Order 13581 as amended by EO 13863; the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office imposed parallel sanctions. A related network, Jin Bei Group, is separately alleged to operate casino and hotel fronts tied to scam compounds and forced labor, and has been linked by Elliptic to the 2023 killing of Yi Ming Dali and to more than $280 million in cryptocurrency, mostly USDT; the UK-sanctioned Byex Exchange, also linked to Jin Bei and Prince Group, reportedly received at least $1.3 billion in crypto transactions per Elliptic's analysis. Prince Group has publicly and categorically denied that it or Chen Zhi engaged in any unlawful activity. All of the above remain allegations; the U.S. criminal case and forfeiture action were pending as of this writing, and Chen Zhi's custody status has been reported inconsistently across outlets that AVOID.NET could not independently verify.","heading":"Criminal Organizations and Scam Compound Operations","sources":[{"url":"https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/chairman-prince-group-indicted-operating-cambodian-forced-labor-scam-compounds-engaged","name":"Chairman of Prince Group Indicted for Operating Cambodian Forced Labor Scam Compounds","type":"official","credibility":1},{"url":"https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0278","name":"Treasury Sanctions Prince Group Transnational Criminal Organization","type":"regulatory","credibility":1},{"url":"https://www.elliptic.co/insights/prince-group-targeted-with-crypto-sanctions-for-global-pig-butchering-operations/","name":"Prince Group Targeted with Crypto Sanctions for Global Pig Butchering Operations","type":"research","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.trmlabs.com/resources/blog/operation-prince-inside-the-global-effort-that-led-to-the-largest-forfeiture-in-us-history","name":"Operation Prince: Inside the Global Effort That Led to the Largest Forfeiture in US History","type":"research","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.paulweiss.com/insights/client-memos/doj-and-treasury-undertake-significant-enforcement-actions-targeting-southeast-asian-scam-networks-underscoring-cyber-enabled-fraud-as-an-enforcement-priority","name":"DOJ and Treasury Undertake Significant Enforcement Actions Targeting Southeast Asian Scam Networks","type":"research","credibility":2}],"severity":"critical"},{"content":"FinCEN's alert and related enforcement actions center heavily on Telegram-based 'guarantee marketplaces' that connect scam syndicates with vendors selling phishing kits, fake identities, trafficking-victim recruitment, and money-laundering services, settling mostly in USDT on the TRON blockchain and holding merchant deposits in escrow to assure buyers of delivery. Huione Guarantee, launched around 2021 and later rebranded Haowang Guarantee, is described by RUSI as the largest illicit online marketplace on record, with its parent platform Huione Pay said to have processed at least $103 billion in USDT; other reporting cites cumulative Huione-linked crypto transaction figures as high as $89 billion, a discrepancy likely reflecting different scopes of what each analytics firm counted. FinCEN finalized a Section 311 USA PATRIOT Act rule, announced October 14-15, 2025, cutting Huione Group off from the U.S. financial system as a 'primary money laundering concern,' finding it had laundered at least $4 billion between August 2021 and January 2025, including proceeds tied to North Korean cyber actors and other designated criminal groups; FinCEN published a further notice in June 2026 clarifying the scope of 'Huione Group' covered by that special measure. After Huione and its successor Tudou Guarantee came under pressure — Tudou reportedly handled a further $14.6 billion before closing in early 2026 under Chinese law-enforcement pressure — merchants and customers migrated to Xinbi Guarantee, which TRM Labs says processed more than $36 billion since 2022 (Elliptic estimates about $30 billion; RUSI roughly $21 billion), figures that should be read as differing analytics-firm estimates rather than an agreed total. The United Kingdom sanctioned Xinbi on March 26, 2026, becoming the first country to do so; the U.S. followed on September 9, 2026, when OFAC designated Xinbi Guarantee along with its developers, Singapore-based SafeW Technology Co., Ltd. and Cambodia-based Anwen Technology Co., Ltd., listing 52 TRON addresses under Executive Order 13581 (as amended by EO 13863) and EO 14390. The same day, the Department of Justice's Scam Center Strike Force seized Xinbi's Telegram channels, banned associated usernames, and seized two wallets holding about $12 million earmarked for vendor payments, while the U.S. Secret Service and Elliptic separately froze $52.8 million in USDT across 52 wallets tied to Xinbi's merchant network, bringing the Strike Force's cumulative restrained total to roughly $938 million. Treasury said Xinbi had been used by North Korean hackers and by other designated entities including Jin Bei Group and parts of the Prince Group network.","heading":"Guarantee Marketplaces: Huione Guarantee and Xinbi","sources":[{"url":"https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/multi-billion-dollar-guarantee-marketplaces-exploit-stablecoins-scams","name":"Multi-Billion-Dollar Guarantee Marketplaces Exploit Stablecoins for Scams","type":"research","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.trmlabs.com/resources/blog/the-us-sanctions-xinbi-one-of-southeast-asias-largest-illicit-crypto-marketplaces","name":"The US Sanctions Xinbi, One of Southeast Asia's Largest Illicit Crypto Marketplaces","type":"research","credibility":2},{"url":"https://thehackernews.com/2026/09/us-disrupts-xinbi-guarantee-scam.html","name":"US Disrupts Xinbi Guarantee Scam Network","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0278","name":"Treasury Sanctions Prince Group Transnational Criminal Organization","type":"regulatory","credibility":1},{"url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/10/16/2025-19571/imposition-of-special-measure-regarding-huione-group-as-a-foreign-financial-institution-of-primary","name":"Imposition of Special Measure Regarding Huione Group as a Foreign Financial Institution of Primary Money Laundering Concern","type":"regulatory","credibility":1},{"url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/06/25/2026-12794/definition-of-huione-group-a-financial-institution-operating-outside-the-united-states-of-primary","name":"Definition of Huione Group, a Financial Institution Operating Outside the United States, of Primary Money Laundering Concern","type":"regulatory","credibility":1}],"severity":"critical"},{"content":"FinCEN's alert lists red flags across three categories. Victim-payment indicators include customers directed by purported government or law-enforcement contacts to pay in digital assets, wires, or precious metals; retirement or investment withdrawals used to buy gold for courier handoff; unsubstantiated 'asset recovery' or 'law firm' claims; and money services businesses falsely claiming to be 'approved by FinCEN' or marketing 'no-KYC' exchange. Guarantee-marketplace indicators include tokens or addresses tied to known marketplace infrastructure, exchanges based in Burma, Cambodia, or Laos that obscure ownership or location, and blockchain links to addresses previously attributed to a guarantee marketplace. Laundering-technique indicators include stablecoin transaction patterns consistent with on-chain layering, addresses advertised alongside Chinese-language laundering terminology, use of DeFi protocols to move proceeds across blockchains, and stablecoins marketed as resistant to seizure or freezing. FinCEN stresses that no single indicator is determinative and institutions should weigh the full context. On the compliance side, institutions filing related SARs are asked to include the keyword 'FIN-2026-SCAMCENTERS' in SAR field 2 and the narrative, to select 'Fraud—Other' under field 34(z) with 'Scam Centers' noted in the text box, and to complete fields 36 and 38 where applicable, attaching available technical indicators such as chat logs, phone numbers, usernames, blockchain addresses, transaction hashes, and app names or URLs. Institutions are told to report ongoing money laundering directly to law enforcement in addition to filing a timely SAR, and to route suspected terrorist-related activity to the Financial Institutions Toll-Free Hotline. FinCEN also encourages voluntary information-sharing between institutions under Section 314(b) of the USA PATRIOT Act, and recommends institutions recalibrate transaction monitoring, retrain SAR teams and front-line staff, and reassess Section 312 correspondent due diligence in light of the alert.","heading":"Red Flag Indicators and Compliance Requirements","sources":[{"url":"https://www.financialservicesperspectives.com/2026/09/fincens-13-billion-scam-center-alert-what-banks-need-to-know-about-the-fastest-growing-financial-crime-threat/","name":"FinCEN's $13 Billion Scam Center Alert: What Banks Need to Know","type":"other","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.fincen.gov/news/news-releases/fincen-identifies-nearly-13-billion-linked-suspected-digital-asset-scams","name":"FinCEN Identifies Nearly $13 Billion Linked to Suspected Digital Asset Scams Operated by Overseas Scam Centers","type":"regulatory","credibility":1}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"The September 2026 alert arrived amid a wider enforcement push. A Financial Action Task Force report issued the same day as the alert reportedly found stablecoins accounted for 84% of illicit virtual-asset transaction value in 2025. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime has estimated annual scam losses across East Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand at between $88.3 billion and $114.1 billion, and has identified people from at least 80 countries and territories inside regional scam compounds. The FBI's 2025 Internet Crime Report recorded roughly $21 billion in total U.S. cybercrime losses, with cryptocurrency-related complaints exceeding $11 billion (up 22% year over year) and investment scams the single largest loss category at more than $8.6 billion, 72% of it cryptocurrency-related. DOJ's Scam Center Strike Force has conducted operations beyond the Xinbi action, including a deployment to Madagascar that reportedly took down 13 scam centers run by Chinese organized-crime syndicates, seized more than 3,200 electronic devices, and led to roughly 30 Chinese compound leaders being repatriated to China; in March 2026, the FBI and Thai police reportedly froze about $580 million in crypto and seized roughly 8,000 phones in a related raid. These actions are framed by the administration as implementing Executive Order 14390, 'Combatting Cybercrime, Fraud, and Predatory Schemes Against American Citizens,' dated March 6, 2026. FinCEN's Rapid Response Program, which coordinates with foreign financial-intelligence units to interdict and repatriate fraudulent transfers, has reportedly interdicted $1.8 billion since 2015 and recovered just over $1 billion for 5,790 U.S. victims.","heading":"Broader Enforcement Context","sources":[{"url":"https://www.cryptopolitan.com/fincen-12-7-billion-crypto-scam-overseas/","name":"FinCEN Links $12.7 Billion in Overseas Crypto Scam Reports","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://crypto.news/fincen-flags-12-7b-tied-to-southeast-asia-crypto-investment-scams/","name":"FinCEN flags $12.7B tied to Southeast Asia crypto investment scams","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://thehackernews.com/2026/09/us-disrupts-xinbi-guarantee-scam.html","name":"US Disrupts Xinbi Guarantee Scam Network","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.trmlabs.com/resources/blog/the-us-sanctions-xinbi-one-of-southeast-asias-largest-illicit-crypto-marketplaces","name":"The US Sanctions Xinbi, One of Southeast Asia's Largest Illicit Crypto Marketplaces","type":"research","credibility":2}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"FinCEN's alert identifies victims across all 50 U.S. states and several U.S. territories. According to crypto.news's review of the underlying analysis, adults aged 60 and over appeared in about 25% of the relevant SARs, roughly proportionate to their 24.4% share of the U.S. population in that age bracket; FinCEN reportedly concluded that older adults were not disproportionately targeted relative to the population overall, which runs against a common assumption that 'pig butchering' scams primarily target elderly victims. Separately, and not specific to crypto investment scams, the FBI recorded $4.8 billion in fraud losses among Americans over 60 across all fraud types in 2024. FinCEN's public materials do not provide a further breakdown of victims by gender, income, or geography.","heading":"Victim Demographics","sources":[{"url":"https://crypto.news/fincen-flags-12-7b-tied-to-southeast-asia-crypto-investment-scams/","name":"FinCEN flags $12.7B tied to Southeast Asia crypto investment scams","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.fincen.gov/news/news-releases/fincen-identifies-nearly-13-billion-linked-suspected-digital-asset-scams","name":"FinCEN Identifies Nearly $13 Billion Linked to Suspected Digital Asset Scams Operated by Overseas Scam Centers","type":"regulatory","credibility":1}],"severity":"medium"}],"timeline":[{"date":"2023-09","event":"FinCEN issues its earlier guidance on 'pig butchering' digital asset investment scams, later built upon by the September 2026 alert.","source":"Duane Morris Banking Law blog","source_url":"https://blogs.duanemorris.com/bankinglaw/2026/09/09/fincen-sounds-the-alarm-on-digital-asset-investment-scam-centers-what-financial-institutions-need-to-know/"},{"date":"2025-10-14","event":"DOJ unseals indictment of Prince Group founder Chen Zhi and files a civil forfeiture complaint against ~127,271 bitcoin (~$15B); OFAC designates 146 targets tied to the Prince Group transnational criminal organization; FinCEN finalizes a Section 311 rule cutting Huione Group off from the U.S. financial system.","source":"U.S. Treasury press release","source_url":"https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0278","date_evidence":"Date: October 14, 2025 (U.S. Treasury press release)"},{"date":"2026","event":"Tudou Guarantee, a successor to Huione Guarantee that reportedly handled a further $14.6 billion in transactions, closes under pressure from Chinese law enforcement.","source":"RUSI commentary","source_url":"https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/multi-billion-dollar-guarantee-marketplaces-exploit-stablecoins-scams"},{"date":"2026-03-06","event":"President signs Executive Order 14390, 'Combatting Cybercrime, Fraud, and Predatory Schemes Against American Citizens,' later cited as the basis for the September 2026 FinCEN alert and Xinbi sanctions.","source":"TRM Labs","source_url":"https://www.trmlabs.com/resources/blog/the-us-sanctions-xinbi-one-of-southeast-asias-largest-illicit-crypto-marketplaces","date_evidence":"Executive Order 13581 (as amended by EO 13863) and EO 14390 from March 6, 2026."},{"date":"2026-03","event":"FBI and Thai police reportedly freeze about $580 million in crypto and seize roughly 8,000 phones in a raid tied to Southeast Asian scam center operations.","source":"crypto.news","source_url":"https://crypto.news/fincen-flags-12-7b-tied-to-southeast-asia-crypto-investment-scams/"},{"date":"2026-03-26","event":"The UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office sanctions Xinbi Guarantee, the first country to do so.","source":"TRM Labs","source_url":"https://www.trmlabs.com/resources/blog/the-us-sanctions-xinbi-one-of-southeast-asias-largest-illicit-crypto-marketplaces","date_evidence":"The UK's FCDO sanctioned Xinbi on March 26, 2026, making the US the second country to do so."},{"date":"2026-06","event":"FinCEN publishes a further Federal Register notice clarifying the scope of 'Huione Group' covered by the October 2025 Section 311 special measure.","source":"Federal Register","source_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/06/25/2026-12794/definition-of-huione-group-a-financial-institution-operating-outside-the-united-states-of-primary"},{"date":"2026-09-03","event":"FinCEN issues Alert FIN-2026-Alert005 and a companion Financial Trend Analysis, identifying about $12.7 billion in suspected digital asset investment scam activity.","source":"FinCEN","source_url":"https://www.fincen.gov/news/news-releases/fincen-identifies-nearly-13-billion-linked-suspected-digital-asset-scams","date_evidence":"Press release issued September 3, 2026, as an \"Immediate Release.\""},{"date":"2026-09-09","event":"OFAC sanctions Xinbi Guarantee and its developers SafeW Technology Co., Ltd. and Anwen Technology Co., Ltd.; DOJ's Scam Center Strike Force seizes Xinbi's Telegram infrastructure and wallets holding about $12 million, while the U.S. Secret Service and Elliptic freeze a further $52.8 million across 52 wallets tied to the network.","source":"TRM Labs / The Hacker News","source_url":"https://www.trmlabs.com/resources/blog/the-us-sanctions-xinbi-one-of-southeast-asias-largest-illicit-crypto-marketplaces","date_evidence":"On September 9, 2026, OFAC sanctioned Xinbi Guarantee, a Chinese-language marketplace at the center of Southeast Asia's scam economy."}],"sources_used":[{"url":"https://www.fincen.gov/news/news-releases/fincen-identifies-nearly-13-billion-linked-suspected-digital-asset-scams","name":"FinCEN Identifies Nearly $13 Billion Linked to Suspected Digital Asset Scams Operated by Overseas Scam Centers","type":"regulatory","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20261017064330/https://www.fincen.gov/news/news-releases/fincen-identifies-nearly-13-billion-linked-suspected-digital-asset-scams","credibility":1,"archive_timestamp":"2026-10-17T06:43:30+00:00"},{"url":"https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/chairman-prince-group-indicted-operating-cambodian-forced-labor-scam-compounds-engaged","name":"Chairman of Prince Group Indicted for Operating Cambodian Forced Labor Scam Compounds","type":"official","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20261023171317/https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/chairman-prince-group-indicted-operating-cambodian-forced-labor-scam-compounds-engaged","credibility":1,"archive_timestamp":"2026-10-23T17:13:17+00:00"},{"url":"https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0278","name":"Treasury Sanctions Prince Group Transnational Criminal Organization","type":"regulatory","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20261105195747/https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0278","credibility":1,"archive_timestamp":"2026-11-05T19:57:47+00:00"},{"url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/10/16/2025-19571/imposition-of-special-measure-regarding-huione-group-as-a-foreign-financial-institution-of-primary","name":"Imposition of Special Measure Regarding Huione Group as a Foreign Financial Institution of Primary Money Laundering Concern","type":"regulatory","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20261016040210/https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/10/16/2025-19571/imposition-of-special-measure-regarding-huione-group-as-a-foreign-financial-institution-of-primary","credibility":1,"archive_timestamp":"2026-10-16T04:02:10+00:00"},{"url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/06/25/2026-12794/definition-of-huione-group-a-financial-institution-operating-outside-the-united-states-of-primary","name":"Definition of Huione Group, a Financial Institution Operating Outside the United States, of Primary Money Laundering 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