Crypto spy sentenced to life in China, YouTuber accused of $230 million fraud: Asia Express

Chinese official sentenced to life imprisonment in cryptocurrency espionage case

A former Chinese government employee identified as Wang Mou (a placeholder name that translates to “so-and-so” used in China to anonymize individuals) has been sentenced to life in prison for selling state secrets to foreign intelligence agencies in exchange for $1 million. Sentenced. Cryptocurrency payments cost Yuan (approximately $138,000).

China’s Ministry of State Security said in a WeChat post that Mr. Wang suffered large losses and debt due to cryptocurrency trading.

Desperate for additional income, he looked for part-time work in online forums, and in the process revealed his government employment. The post caught the attention of a foreign intelligence agent who offered cryptocurrency payment for classified information.

Mr. Wang gradually tried to distance himself from foreign organizations, but received threats and threats of exposure if he stopped cooperating, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

However, China has also used cryptocurrency payments for espionage against foreign targets.

Last September, Taiwan indicted two military officers on charges of selling more than seven classified military documents to their contacts in mainland China for 8,151 Tether (USDT).

Last month, Taiwan’s High Court sentenced eight people to prison for leaking military secrets to China in exchange for an undisclosed amount of cryptocurrency. Unlike China, the punishment was less light, with the ringleader receiving the longest sentence of 13 years.

Taiwanese government watchdog Control Yuan has reported a sharp rise in Chinese espionage incidents over the past decade, noting that cryptocurrencies are increasingly being used to evade detection.

WazirX suspected hacking account dealer arrested

Delhi police have arrested a suspect in connection with the $235 million cyberattack on Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX.

According to the allegations reviewed by local media, SK Masud Alam allegedly created fake WazirX accounts and sold them to Telegram user “M Hasan”. Hasan reportedly used dummy accounts to compromise WazirX’s platform.

The police report also accused Liminal Custody, a third-party digital asset management company that protects WazirX’s wallet, of not fully cooperating. Despite multiple requests, Liminal reportedly failed to disclose critical information, complicating the investigation.

The cyberattack, which occurred on July 18, targeted six approval-requiring multi-signature wallets – five from WazirX and one from Liminal Custody – and cost the company nearly 45% of WazirX’s assets.

Following a preliminary investigation, WazirX claimed that the breach occurred due to a security flaw in Liminal’s systems. In response, Liminal accused WazirX of spreading false information, claiming that the company was still using its services despite WazirX’s claims that it had ended their partnership.

The WazirX security exploit is one of the largest cyberattacks targeting cryptocurrency businesses this year. Some security experts blamed the North Korean hacking group Lazarus for the attack on the Indian exchange.

YouTube cryptocurrency expert arrested for $230 million fraud

Police arrested 215 people involved in an unlicensed investment advisory company on charges of defrauding investors. Among those arrested is a YouTuber in his 40s with 620,000 subscribers, who the police named ‘Mr. “A.” He and 11 others were formally indicted.

According to the announcement on November 13, Mr. A and his team received 325.6 billion won (about 230 million dollars) from 15,304 individuals in the name of selling and issuing 28 types of cryptocurrency from December 2021 to March 2023. rus) was raised.

Mr. A is known to have run an advisory firm and switched to selling cryptocurrency after erroneous stock recommendations led to massive refund requests in 2020.

He and his associates aggressively promoted cryptocurrency products through YouTube and advertisements, using a database of over 9 million phone numbers obtained through these channels. Marketing strategies included phrases such as “20 times your original amount” and “your chance to change your destiny,” and even urged individuals to sell their apartments or take out a loan to buy them.

Of the 28 cryptocurrencies offered, 6 were self-issued and listed on overseas exchanges. The police suspect that Mr. A’s group inflated the price of these tokens through wash trading and then sold them to investors at a premium. The remaining 22 coins were not self-issued, but had little information and low trading volume.

The victims were mainly middle-aged and elderly, including those who suffered losses of up to 1.2 billion won (about $850,000). One investor reportedly sold his apartment to raise investment funds but suffered a large loss.

After reports were made in early 2023, police tracked down 1,444 cryptocurrency accounts linked to the scam. Mr. A, who fled to Australia, was eventually arrested, and authorities confiscated 22 bitcoins from him. The police also applied to confiscate assets worth 47.8 billion won of the embezzled funds.

Thailand loots cryptocurrency mining equipment

Thai police have conducted raids since the weekend in Surat Thani and Chachoengsao provinces, seizing 286 pieces of cryptocurrency mining equipment, local media reported.

Authorities in the southern Surat Thani province searched seven commercial buildings and two homes over the weekend and arrested two 30-year-old suspects. Police confiscated 111 mining machines, 10 routers, and 10 electricity meters modified to bypass electricity bills. One suspect, identified as ‘Natapong’, is known to have rented a building and owned two houses. His financial records show more than $1.1 million in transactions over the past 18 months.

The work follows reports of abandoned buildings with converted electricity meters siphoning power for mining operations. Authorities discovered high power usage with minimal billing, raising suspicions of power theft.

On November 12, in Chachoengsao, east of the capital Bangkok, officials discovered another mining site in an abandoned warehouse, seizing 109 active mining machines and 66 additional units awaiting installation.

Authorities estimated the scale of the power theft in the two areas to be about 20 million baht ($570,000).

Cryptocurrency mining-related electricity theft has surged in Southeast Asia following China’s 2021 mining ban.

Indonesian police have shut down 10 mine sites where more than $1 million worth of power was stolen, while Laos’ state-run energy supplier cut off power to miners.

Meanwhile, Malaysian authorities recently issued a statement rolling out a video of 1,000 pieces of mining equipment.

This weekend’s airstrikes are not the first in Thailand. Last April, authorities seized $5.8 million worth of mining equipment in a similar electricity theft case.

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Yoon Yohan

Yohan Yoon is a multimedia journalist covering blockchain since 2017. He contributed as an editor to Forkast, a media outlet specializing in cryptocurrency, and covered Asian technology stories as an assistant reporter for Bloomberg BNA and Forbes. He spends his free time cooking and experimenting with new recipes.