DOJ seizes $15B in Bitcoin from 'pig butchering' scam based in Cambodia

Post by blueprint » Wed, Oct 15, 2025, 7:14 AM UTC

advisedwang wrote: post #9

_cs2017_ wrote: post #5

Is it actually usable, sellable Bitcoin worth $15B? Or is it some kind of storage that the owner couldn't really use easily for some reason? $15B of real wealth is a large amount even for a powerful family, so I am surprised it's not a headline news in global media.

The forfeiture complaint [1] says: > Chen personally maintained records of the wallet addresses and seed phrases associated with the private keys for each. So it sounds like they have the seed phrases and thus the private keys. [1] https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nyed.53...

Post by padjo » Wed, Oct 15, 2025, 7:22 AM UTC

shkkmo wrote: post #56

yhager wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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?

The amount of bitcoin siezed here is about 30% of the Cambodia GDP...

Post by pyrale » Wed, Oct 15, 2025, 7:26 AM UTC

yhager wrote: post #48

PaywallBuster wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

Post by wraptile » Wed, Oct 15, 2025, 7:37 AM UTC

decimalenough wrote: post #67

jacknews wrote: post #3

And this isn't the only one. The ruling family in Cambodia is a big part of it, via their ownership in HuiOne (now renamed), which is essentially the clearing house for the 'industry'. In fact the Thai-Cambodia border conflict is due to this industry, and a breakdown in the relationship between Thai and Cambodian leaders over it, with the wiley cambodian leader yet again provoking the sensitive border issue for polit…

No, it was a "Russia invading Ukraine" sized miscalculation. The "wily" Cambodian leader's military got their asses handed to them by the Thai army, and Cambodia is suffering a lot more from the still ongoing border closure than Thailand is. Remittances, tourism, trade, you name it, it's all in the doldrums. (Good time to visit Angkor Wat if you can swing it, though.)

Post by hshdhdhehd » Wed, Oct 15, 2025, 7:38 AM UTC

dgfitz wrote: post #19

mothballed wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure if one can merely walk away from a criminal enterprise of that size. As soon as you stop paying certain people you end up in a cage, and unless the stream of money is constant there is no reason to just not reneg on all prior agreements and go in a cage for stuff you already paid authorities off for.

So the whole crypto anonymity thing isn’t actually real? As it turns out, tracing people is still easier than tracing money? Decentralized economies are run by criminal enterprises?! We aren’t safe!?! Wonder how this whole concept overlays onto LLMs, with a lot more money on the line and a lot less regulation.