The US government, Thai police, and the world’s largest crypto exchange platform by volume just toppled a multi-million-dollar crypto scam.

In a new company blog post, crypto exchange Binance says that it has contributed to taking down the criminal network that ran an elaborate scheme that targeted novice traders with fake investment platforms.

“The Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) of the Royal Thai Police teamed up with Binance and U.S. Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) to dismantle a criminal ring behind a significant pig butchering scam that had impacted thousands of people in Thailand.

Armed with intelligence from Binance and HSI, the CCIB arrested five principal members of this group and confiscated assets valued at around THB $10 billion ($277 million USD), which included luxury cars, homes, land, and other upscale items. Since these events, over 3,200 victims have come forward seeking compensation.”

So-called pig butchering scams happen when criminals gain ongoing trust of victims, encouraging them to deposit money into fake investment platforms, and then keeping the fraud going by displaying fake profits and pushing them to pay further sums – including fake tax bills.

As stated by Police Lieutenant Colonel Thanatus Kangruambutr, Inspector of the Cyber Support Unit in the High-Tech Crime Division at Thailand’s Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau,

“We appreciate Binance’s significant contribution to the disruption of this criminal group. The rise of crypto scams in recent years has resulted in financial damage of hundreds of millions in Thailand.

Yet, through prompt information exchange with key partners, including the Binance Investigations team, this successful operation resulted in the arrests of the criminals.

Binance remains an essential ally in our combat against scams and cybercrimes. We value this partnership and look forward to continuing it.”