Crypto spy jailed for life in China, YouTube accused of $230m fraud: Asia Express

Life imprisonment for Chinese official in crypto espionage case

A former Chinese government employee known as Wang Moumou (a placeholder name used to name individuals in China means “so and so”) was sentenced to life in prison for selling state secrets to foreign intelligence agencies in exchange for 1 million. yuan (about $138,000) in cryptocurrency payments.

China's Ministry of State Security said in a WeChat post that Wang had accumulated a lot of losses and debts from crypto trading.

Desperate for extra income, he looked for a part-time job on an online forum, revealing that it was a government job in the process. This post attracted the attention of a foreign intelligence agent who offered crypto payments for classified information.

Wang gradually tried to distance himself from the foreign agency, but he faced exposure and exposure if he stopped cooperating, the ministry said.

However, China has employed crypto payments that have been used to spy on foreign targets.

In September, Taiwan charged two military officers with selling at least seven classified military documents to mainland Chinese contacts for 8,151 Tether (USDT).

Last month, Taiwan's High Court sentenced eight individuals to prison for leaking military secrets to China, and ordered the release of an undisclosed amount of currency. Unlike in China, the penalties are less severe, where the original owner was sentenced to 13 years in prison.

Taiwan's government watchdog, Control Yuan, has reported a sharp rise in Chinese espionage over the past decade.

The suspect of Wazir X's account dealer was arrested

Delhi Police has arrested a suspect in the $235 million cyber attack on Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX.

According to allegations reviewed by local media, SK Masood Alam created a fake Wazir X account and sold it to Telegram user “M Hasan”. Hassan used his dummy account to hack Wazirx's platform.

The police report also accused Liminal Custody, the third-party digital asset protection firm that maintains Wazirx's wallet, of failing to cooperate fully. Although many questions were asked, Liminal complicated the investigation by withholding critical information.

The July 18 cyberattack targeted six multi-signature wallets that required authentication — five from WazirX and one from Liminal Protection — and cost WazirX nearly 45% of its assets.

Following a preliminary investigation, WazirX said a security flaw in the Liminal system caused the breach. In response, Liminal accused WazirX of spreading false information, insisting that WazirX still uses its services despite claims that it has terminated its partnership.

The WazirX security exploit is one of the biggest cyber attacks to hit the cryptocurrency business this year. Several security experts have blamed the North Korean hacking group Lazar for the attack on the Indian exchange.

YouTube crypto guru caught in $230 million fraud scheme

South Korean police have arrested 215 individuals accused of defrauding investors with an unlicensed investment advisory firm. Among those arrested was a 40-something YouTuber with 620,000 subscribers, known by police as “Mr. A.” He and 11 other people were formally charged.

According to the November 13 announcement, Mr. A and his team collected 325.6 billion won (approximately $230 million) from 15,304 individuals by selling and issuing 28 different cryptocurrencies.

In the year After botched stock recommendations in 2020 led to mass refund requests, Mr. A is said to be leading the advisory firm and moving into crypto sales.

He and his partners heavily promoted their crypto offerings on YouTube and advertisements using a database of over 9 million phone numbers obtained through these channels. Marketing tactics include persuading individuals to sell their flats or take out loans to buy them, including phrases such as “20x capital” and “a chance to change your destiny”.

Of the 28 cryptocurrencies presented, six are self-issued and listed on overseas exchanges. The police suspected that Mr. A's group inflated the value of these tokens through wash trading and then sold them to investors at a premium. The remaining 22 coins were not issued on their own, but had less information and lower transaction volumes.

The victims, mainly middle-aged and elderly, lost up to 1.2 billion won (about $850,000). An investor is said to have sold an apartment to finance his investment and suffered a huge loss.

In the year Following complaints filed in early 2023, police found 1,444 cryptocurrency accounts linked to the scam. Mr. A, who fled to Australia, was eventually caught, and authorities seized 22 bitcoins from him. Police have requested the seizure of 47.8 billion won (about $34 million) of embezzled funds from a preliminary hearing.

Thailand raids rob crypto miners

Thai police have arrested 286 crypto miners in Surat Thani and Chachongsao provinces since the weekend, local media reported.

In the southern province of Surat Thani, authorities raided seven commercial buildings and two houses over the weekend and arrested two 30-year-old suspects. Police seized 111 miners, 10 routers and 10 power meters modified to bypass electricity bills. A suspect identified as “Natapong” is said to have rented the buildings and occupied the two houses. His financial records show more than $1.1 million in transactions over the past 18 months.

The operation follows rigging of electricity meters to take away power from abandoned buildings used for mining operations. Officials found high electricity consumption with minimal bills, raising suspicions of power theft.

In Chachongsao, east of the country's capital, Bangkok, authorities discovered another mining site in an abandoned warehouse on November 12, with 109 active mining machines and 66 more units awaiting installation.

Officials estimate the power theft in both provinces at around 20 million baht ($570,000).

Electricity theft related to crypto mining has increased in Southeast Asia after China banned mining from 2021.

Indonesian police shut down 10 mining sites with more than $1 million worth of stolen power, and Laos' state energy supplier cut off power to miners.

Meanwhile, Malaysian authorities recently released a video of 1,000 mining operations.

This weekend's raid is not Thailand's first. In April, authorities confiscated more than $5.8 million worth of mining rigs in a similar electricity theft case.

John Yun

Yohan Yun is a multimedia journalist who has been reporting on blockchain since 2017. He has contributed as an editor to crypto media outlet Forkast 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.