tl;dr
Reputable financial institutions, including major U.S. banks like Bank of America, Chase, Citibank, HSBC, and Wells Fargo, have been used in a multistep money laundering process by Asian crime syndicates involved in pig butchering scams. These scams, which exploit victims financially by building rel...
Reputable financial institutions, including major U.S. banks like Bank of America, Chase, Citibank, HSBC, and Wells Fargo, have been exploited in a multistep money laundering scheme that funnels funds from U.S. scam victims to Asian crime syndicates. These crime groups, behind pig butchering scams, use these banks to convert illicit proceeds into cryptocurrency for overseas transfer.
Pig butchering scams involve deceiving victims through relationship-building tactics to financially exploit them, generating approximately $44 billion annually. Chinese gangs operating in prison-like compounds across Southeast Asia—specifically Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar—carry out these scams using black market U.S. bank accounts rented via Chinese-language Telegram channels.
Scammers receive victim funds wired through traditional bank accounts, convert these funds into cryptocurrency to transfer them overseas, and later exchange the crypto back to standard currency. Although banks make considerable efforts to prevent fraud, these criminals evade detection by hiding their identities, exploiting shell corporations, and leveraging reputable financial institutions to facilitate their illicit activities.
The American Bankers Association acknowledges the challenge in fully preventing scammers from accessing banking services. Despite ongoing efforts, the vast number of bank accounts opened each year allows bad actors to slip through security measures, abusing the reputations of legitimate banks and companies to move stolen funds away from their victims.