John W.

A new @UNODC threat analysis has found #OrganizedCrime expanding #cyber and #MoneyLaundering operations deeper int­­o the most vulnerable, underprepared parts of #SoutheastAsia — and increasingly beyond. Full report here: bit.ly/4ijy84Z #Scams #Fraud #Crypto #Mekong

The Telegram-based Xinbi Guarantee black market sells services that help prop up scam operations. British officials just hit the highly lucrative marketplace with sweeping sanctions. wired.com/story/20-billi…

I received a suspicious email with a weird link yesterday. My first thought was this is yet another phishing attempt, albeit well-tailored. I was wrong: researchers with whom I shared this email told me I was targeted by a very recent DarkSword attack used by the GRU. If I were to click the link in that email, my phone would be compromised — without entering any passwords or doing anything else. Fun fact: the attack would be launched only if I would access the link using an iPhone registered in Lithuania (which is indeed my case). Luckily, I didn’t click. Beware! Technical details about this exploit and how to stay protected: cloud.google.com/blog/topics/th…

Includes man-of-many-passports Hu Xiaowei, aka Wu An Ming, aka Chen Xiao’er, aka Hu Shi. Of course one of those is Cambodian. He was already sanctioned by the US last year. See @jackoozell @OCCRP reporting on his UK property holdings. 2/7 occrp.org/en/scoop/multi…

UK/CAMBODIA: UK announces new sanctions targeting Prince Group network, a Huione-linked scam compound, illicit marketplace that services the online scam industry, and ex-Triad leader. 1/7 gov.uk/government/new…

@jacobincambodia @generaltsoluna @Senpai_Gideon lmaooooooooo

@generaltsoluna @Senpai_Gideon I sent you a DM

I took this photo in Phnom Penh in 2015. A McLaren P1, one of 375 ever made, worth around $2 million. I had no idea who was driving it at the time.

@jacobincambodia All possible. I imagine Pauly isn't particularly happy that he's ended up the fall guy either.

@johnwSEAP Debt? Taiwanese media is reporting he owed around $44 million. He was also a key witness in a case that implicates some powerful people in Taiwan so maybe he was "silenced." I read that one Taiwanese and one Chinese national are in custody.

First images from the scene are now circulating in Taiwanese business chat groups in Cambodia. Lin Bingwen, Taiwan’s “Billion-Dollar Gambling King” and a fugitive in the $680 million 88 Club money laundering case, was gunned down outside his Sihanoukville residence Sunday night. He took 29 bullets, five to the head. He normally traveled with three bodyguards but was alone walking his dog when the shooters caught him. CCTV showed a black car had been tailing him for days. Two suspects arrested so far.

When Thailand’s Deputy Finance Minister resigned in 2025, he claimed he only knew fugitive money launderer Benjamin Mauerberger as a casual acquaintance from their kids' school. Leaked photos from his son’s private Instagram tell a different story. 1/8

@noansereiboth AE Sexy & Venus 💃

The deceased is Lin Pin‑wen, wanted in Taiwan for money laundering and fraud, and was reportedly involved in a casino in Sihanoukville.

CAMBODIA/TAIWAN: Taiwanese national Lin Ping-wen shot & killed in Sihanoukville. Lin was indicted in Taiwan on suspicion of money laundering but failed to appear in court and fled the country. 1/5 taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/ar…

Taiwan's "Billion-Dollar Gambling King" gunned down in Sihanoukville Lin Bingwen, a 54-year-old Taiwanese fugitive wanted in one of Taiwan's biggest money laundering scandals, was shot dead on a remote road in Sihanoukville on Sunday night. Sihanoukville police told Cambodian-Chinese media the killing was premeditated. Three to four gunmen arrived at the scene, opened fire, and fled. Lin was a key figure in the "88 Club" case, a sprawling underground banking and gambling operation that moved roughly $680 million through illegal money transfers. He ran PGTalk, a third-party payment platform prosecutors say was used to launder funds for 88 Club boss Guo Zhemin, who was sentenced to nearly 12 years last May. The case also brought down over two dozen Taiwanese police officials who'd been wined and dined at Guo's lavish private club in Taipei. Lin showed up to court twice in 2023, then started stalling with excuses. His lawyer didn't admit he was already overseas until December 2024. Investigators initially believed he was hiding in Los Angeles, but he recently surfaced in Sihanoukville, reportedly involved in hotel and casino operations with Chinese partners. While on the run, Lin posted defiantly on Facebook, telling critics he wasn't fleeing justice and taunting a Taiwanese legislator who called him out. Taiwan's Criminal Investigation Bureau has confirmed his death.

AI-generated pig butchering scripts in more than 20 European languages. Costumes and fake IDs. All found on the 30th floor of a luxury building in Phnom Penh. Police raided the scam center and arrested 65 people, eight of them suspected Chinese ringleaders. But 57 were Cambodian, a shift from earlier raids where nearly all suspects were foreign nationals. The operation was targeting victims across Europe. Cambodia has raided nearly 200 scam centers since July 2025, but police say the industry is adapting. Big warehouse compounds are getting shut down, so syndicates are moving into office towers and hotel buildings instead.

🔴 A threat isn't much of a threat if it can't reach the right victims. 📦️ That's why many modern threat actors rely on cloakers and traffic distribution systems (TDS) to target, route, and hide at scale. infoblox.com/blog/threat-in… 🧵

8,000 phones, $580 million frozen, and the FBI is rotating agents to Thailand FBI's Bangkok office set up a joint task force with Royal Thai Police last August to go after scam compounds in the region. Royal Thai Police have since seized over 8,000 phones and 1,300 hard drives from suspected compounds. FBI Deputy Assistant Director Scott Schelble says they're no longer just targeting individual scammers but dismantling the networks financing and sustaining the compounds, tracing crypto across blockchains and freezing accounts. DOJ's Scam Center Strike Force has frozen or seized over $580 million in crypto so far. The FBI is also rotating special agents to Thailand on six-month deployments to work alongside Thai authorities. Meanwhile, Meta just took down 150,000+ accounts tied to scam center networks as part of a joint effort with Thai police, leading to 21 arrests.

Fear the Fake Ferry Fares ⚠️ ⛴️Searching online for ferry tickets? You may be saying "Bon Voyage"... but only to your credit card. 💳️ 🎣 While attempting to book a trip from Vancouver to Victoria, BC, one of our researchers nearly dropped anchor 🧵

@NateSibley Wrong. We should all get educated: tether.io/news/tether-ch…

Tether is by far the “preferred choice for crypto money launderers” in Southeast Asia. thediplomat.com/2026/03/launde…

Criminals are offering "quick cash" to international university students heading home in exchange for their bank accounts and identity documents, Australian Federal Police warn. Scam syndicates looking to launder millions are targeting students with deals ranging from $200 to $500 for access to their Australian bank accounts, plus a potential commission on the illegal funds that flow through #vancouvermodel

Scammers in a major Cambodian complex used fake police stations seemingly designed to fool victims over video chat bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

@Thenationth Four years is laughable.

State official sentenced to four years for possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material involving more than 250,000 files; DSI expands investigation with the FBI, AFP, HSI, New Zealand’s DIA, INTERPOL and European law enforcement agencies to crack down on a transnational network. Pol Lt Gen Rutthapol Naowarat, Minister of Justice, disclosed the case in which the Criminal Court on March 10, 2026, handed down a judgment against a state official for possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material online, a case handled by the Department of Special Investigation. #ThailandNews #TheNation #Thailand #Police Read more: nationthailand.com/blogs/news/gen…

Tom Wright is unspooling the saga of a pig-butchering kingpin in real time. he's currently on the run on two yachts. follow him and @WhaleHunting_ for more