Asian criminals launder money through gambling sites

The United Nations (UN) has raised concerns about the growing prevalence of criminal organizations in Southeast Asia operating illegal online gambling sites using cryptocurrency payments.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) published the report titled “Transnational Organized Crime and the Convergence of Cyber ​​Fraud, Underground Banking and Technological Innovation: A Changing Threat Landscape”, which outlines how organized crime is growing faster now than at any other time in history.

In addition to their gambling activities, these syndicates make money from cybercrime and the production and trafficking of synthetic drugs. The UNODC estimated that financial losses from cyber fraud in the region could reach $37 billion last year.

unregulated casinos are often vehicles for billions of dollars laundering

Handling such significant sums of money has led to large-scale money laundering, and unregulated casinos are often vehicles for laundering billions of dollars without any accountability.

The groups have the ability to always stay ahead of the authorities by ‘converging and exploiting vulnerabilities’.