FinCEN Links $12.7B to Crypto Scams Run From Southeast Asian Compounds

The US Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has linked roughly $12.7 billion in suspicious financial activity to crypto investment scams operated from compounds in Southeast Asia.

The figure comes from 33,904 Bank Secrecy Act reports filed by about 1,300 financial institutions between September 2023 and December 2025. Money services businesses, mostly crypto firms, filed 55% of the reports and flagged $5.5 billion, while banks filed 41% and identified $6.4 billion.

FinCEN found that reported activity increased over the period. Monthly reports grew from 590, involving activity worth $485.7 million, in October 2023 to 2,482, worth $833.5 million, in December 2025. The agency cautioned that the increase may partly reflect wider use of search terms introduced in an earlier 2023 alert, and that the totals can include duplicate transfers, attempted payments, and reporting errors.

FinCEN said scammers used at least 22 digital assets, with Ethereum, USDT, and USDC among the most common. Funds were generally converted into stablecoins, particularly USDT, before being moved through DeFi protocols or exchanges outside the US.

The agency said the scam compounds are concentrated in Cambodia, Laos, and Burma and are operated by transnational criminal organizations. It also warned that the model is spreading beyond Southeast Asia.

FinCEN has issued red flags for financial institutions to help identify activity connected to scam centers, including the use of money mules, shell companies, stablecoin transfers, and accounts established by professional money launderers.