Related: U.S. Sanctions Cambodian Conglomerate, Citing Role in 'Pig-Butchering' Scams https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45584418
Thanks, we'll merge that thread hither
DOJ seizes $15B in Bitcoin from 'pig butchering' scam based in Cambodia
41–50 of 421 posts
Re: DOJ seizes $15B in Bitcoin from 'pig butchering' scam based in Cambodia
#42So apparently the FBI or other US agency hacked this guy and drained his wallets? No indication he’s been arrested, wallets said to be unhosted. Clearly should’ve used an offline wallet lol.
It may not be a hack, but a warrant like 'Hey Google, give us access to this guy's Gmail.'
Re: DOJ seizes $15B in Bitcoin from 'pig butchering' scam based in Cambodia
#43So apparently the FBI or other US agency hacked this guy and drained his wallets? No indication he’s been arrested, wallets said to be unhosted. Clearly should’ve used an offline wallet lol.
It may not be a hack, but a warrant like 'Hey Google, give us access to this guy's Gmail.'
You can’t get a warrant for a bitcoin wallet right?
Re: DOJ seizes $15B in Bitcoin from 'pig butchering' scam based in Cambodia
#44Wonder if Musk will be protesting, those seizures could put a dent in SpaceX earnings https://www.barrons.com/news/myanmar-scam-cities-booming-des...
It’s only technically incorrect to suggest that Musk should protest over the recent $15B scam profit seizure—it was from Cambodian scams, whereas the compounds that reportedly had to switch to Starlink due to being disconnected from the Internet are in Myanmar[0]—but yes, it’s still unclear why would Musk not shut any of it down if they have the capability (and if they don’t, then it’s another interesting controversy).
[0] https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/starlink--an-internet-l...
Re: DOJ seizes $15B in Bitcoin from 'pig butchering' scam based in Cambodia
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
It may not be a hack, but a warrant like 'Hey Google, give us access to this guy's Gmail.'
You can’t get a warrant for a bitcoin wallet right?
Re: DOJ seizes $15B in Bitcoin from 'pig butchering' scam based in Cambodia
#46Do they force you to reveal your private keys?
After obtaining the bitcoins, are they forced to sell it immediately? How does this affect the market?
Re: DOJ seizes $15B in Bitcoin from 'pig butchering' scam based in Cambodia
#47Long overdue. At some point, these scam operations are so large that they have to be operating with tacit approval of their host countries, who have been given no incentive to stop the virtual cold war against the personal finances of foreign citizenry that is bringing in millions of dollars into their economy.
Direct link to the indictment https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/chairman-prince-group-i...
Cambodia's specifically 30-50% of the economy can be directly attributed to scamming plus casinos
This one of the other organizations / major bank used for money laundering directly linked to Hun Sen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huione_Group
> The company is linked to Cambodia's ruling Hun family, which includes the current prime minister, Hun Manet.[4] His cousin Hun To is a major shareholder and director of Huione Pay
Re: DOJ seizes $15B in Bitcoin from 'pig butchering' scam based in Cambodia
#48Long overdue. At some point, these scam operations are so large that they have to be operating with tacit approval of their host countries, who have been given no incentive to stop the virtual cold war against the personal finances of foreign citizenry that is bringing in millions of dollars into their economy.
Direct link to the indictment https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/chairman-prince-group-i... Cambodia's specifically 30-50% of the economy can be directly attributed to scamming plus casinos This one of the other organizations / major bank used for money laundering directly linked to Hun Sen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huione_Group > The company is linked to Cambodia's ruling Hun family, which includes the current…
> Cambodia's specifically 30-50% of the economy can be directly attributed to scamming plus casinos
Are you saying that 30-50% of Cambodia's economy can be directly attributed to scamming and casinos? I find that shocking and hard to believe. Do you have a source for that statement?
Re: DOJ seizes $15B in Bitcoin from 'pig butchering' scam based in Cambodia
#49Re: DOJ seizes $15B in Bitcoin from 'pig butchering' scam based in Cambodia
#50From this article they got $15B ( https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/14/bitcoin-doj-chen-zhi-pig-but... ). At what point do you say, "That's enough money?" Did they think the scam was going to go on forever?
They have shareholders who bought the shares for more than the company annual revenue and expect infinite potential of profits to justify the price they paid