Fraud networks in Southeast Asia cost victims up to $114 billion in one year: UN

The United Nations said in a report that the fraud industry in Southeast Asia has turned into a single interconnected criminal economy whose losses now rival the production of entire countries. a report Published Tuesday.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime described a “fundamental” restructuring of the underworld in the region. Locally rooted unions that once stuck to one region and one specialty have merged into a transnational network where groups sell services — money laundering, fraud, human trafficking, data collection — to each other via shared infrastructure, the report said.

Delphine Schantz, UNODC Regional Representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, likened this model to “corporate privilege” in her speech. statementPointing to departments specialized in money laundering, human trafficking, and data collection linked to the same service-based network.

Combined losses from fraud across East Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand reached an estimated $88.3 billion to $114.1 billion in 2025 alone – a figure that UNODC noted was “exceeding the GDP of many countries in the region.” Much of this money is moved through cryptocurrencies: pools run investment and romance scams, often called “pig slaughter,” the proceeds of which are laundered across the chain. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime warned that police in the region still lack the training needed to track funds in the “new cryptocurrency context,” and Schantz added that confiscating proceeds was now necessary because “disruption alone does not work.”

Instead of smuggling physical contraband, groups increasingly sell online fraud, criminal infrastructure, and platform-based financial settlements that leave little trace and are difficult to trace. Feeding the machine is forced labor on a global scale, with people from at least 80 countries identified within the fraud complexes. The report added that fraud networks are now trying to expand their recruitment scope, through advertisements targeting individuals with European and North American language skills.

The report cites generative artificial intelligence, deepfakes and semi-automated fraud, along with “malicious advertising” – hijacking legitimate ad networks to spread malware – which it said rose 42% year-on-year in 2025. Criminal operations were “decoupled” from local communications infrastructure by satellite internet such as Elon Musk’s Starlink, enabling them to operate in remote locations, the report said.

Beyond scams, the report breaks new ground in other fast-growing markets. It identifies the Sulu and Celebes Sea – the maritime triangle between Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines – as an emerging smuggling corridor, and warns that criminals are exploiting online gambling to attract younger users.

Monica Juma, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime He said The networks are “flexible, persistent and adaptable,” able to shift across borders and resume operations after law enforcement crackdowns, making international cooperation essential to dismantle them.

Law enforcement agencies around the world are stepping up their response to this threat. US prosecutors last week He seized more than $25 million In cryptocurrencies linked to investment and romance scams being routed through the region, Interpol has done so Composite networks are described Global threat. Human losses have also become a topic of interest, with Amnesty International documenting a Humanitarian crisis As workers flee compounds in Cambodia – the same country where Prince Group Chairman Chen Chee was arrested awaiting extradition to China, in a case involving One of the largest Bitcoin seizures ever.