Telegram is a hotspot for crypto fraud and laundering

A recent United Nations report showed that criminal networks in Southeast Asia are increasingly using the messaging app Telegram to facilitate a variety of illegal activities, from trading hacked data to laundering money through unlicensed cryptocurrency exchanges.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime found that organized crime syndicates are taking advantage of Telegram’s lax moderation and encrypted messaging features to carry out large-scale illicit operations. The UN’s findings, as reported by Reuters, highlight the sheer scale of cybercrime and money laundering on the platform.

Criminals use the app to exchange sensitive information, including credit card information and passwords, and purchase tools such as malware to steal money through the messaging app.

According to the report, unlicensed cryptocurrency exchanges advertised in the application provide services that enable criminal organizations to launder money.

Telegram’s role in Southeast Asian crimes

The report focuses on Southeast Asia, where Chinese criminal organizations operate billion-dollar fraud schemes. These operations generate annual revenues of between $27.4 billion and $36.5 billion, according to UNODC.

The report cites an example of a group ad advertising that it could move $3 million worth of stolen Tether (USDT) per day.

Last week, Vietnamese police busted an international crypto fraud network operating in Laos’ Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone, arresting five suspects. Scammers defrauded VND17.6 billion through fake romantic relationships and fraudulent investments on the platform called “Biconomynft”.

Telegram’s dance with law enforcement

Telegram has nearly 1 billion users, but its founder, Pavel Durov, has come under scrutiny recently. In August, Durov was arrested in Paris, accused of allowing the platform to facilitate criminal activities, including the distribution of sexually explicit images of children.

This has sparked debate about the responsibility of messaging platforms to prevent criminal activity while balancing users’ privacy rights.

For those unfamiliar with crypto, platforms like Telegram play an important role in enabling encrypted communications, but they can also be misused. Criminals can leverage assets to move funds quickly and anonymously, making it difficult for authorities to track the flow of illicit money.

Following his arrest, Durov announced that the platform was making updates to its moderation policies in response to concerns about misuse of the search function. He stated that Telegram may disclose the IP addresses and phone numbers of violators to authorities following valid legal requests.