Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday that scam centers in Southeast Asia steal billions of dollars from Americans each year, as the department sanctioned Xinbi Guarantee, a Chinese-language platform accused of supporting cyber scams.

A $24 Billion Marketplace

Since roughly 2022, the marketplace has processed more than $24 billion in digital assets and fiat currency, according to the Treasury Department.

It also sanctioned two supporting entities, Singapore-based SafeW Technology Co., which built an encrypted messaging app used to coordinate transactions, and Cambodia-based Anwen Technology Co., which built a related cryptocurrency payment wallet.

The action was taken alongside the Justice Department's Scam Center Strike Force, which seized infrastructure and digital asset wallets tied to Xinbi Guarantee.

'Billions Stolen From American Victims'

"Scam centers in Southeast Asia steal billions of dollars from American victims each year," Bessent said in a post on X.

He added that President Donald Trump's administration is aligned in dismantling these overseas criminal networks, and that Treasury will continue using its tools to disrupt "the networks behind this egregious fraud."

The Secret Service Froze $52.8 Million in Assets

Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic said it worked with the U.S. Secret Service to identify and freeze 52 wallets holding $52.8 million in cryptoassets linked to Xinbi Guarantee and its merchants.

Xinbi responded on Telegram, Elliptic reported, calling the freezes "arbitrary," and said the platform was in "its most challenging period since its inception."

The group said it would stop accepting deposits in Tether's USDT stablecoin and switch exclusively to a different token, USDD, urging users to diversify their holdings to reduce further risk.

Part of a Broader Crackdown

The sanctions build on earlier Treasury actions against the Prince Group and Huione Group, another financial network linked to scam operations.

Treasury said cybercriminals previously tied to Huione had migrated to Xinbi Guarantee's platform after that earlier crackdown.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by MarketDash editors.