The US media ProPublica recently published an in-depth investigation article stating that the "pig killing" fraud that has swept the world in recent years is actually a transnational money laundering system behind it: the fraud gangs often transfer the victim's funds to a local US bank account first, then convert them into cryptocurrencies, transfer them to the Southeast Asian fraud park, and finally distribute them to the behind-the-scenes operators.
According to a report by the US Institute of Peace: the annual output value of these fraud industry chains has exceeded US$44 billion, and Southeast Asia, especially the Golden Triangle in Laos, Kokang in Myanmar, and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, has become the "headquarters" of the fraud gangs.
Bank of America, a "springboard" for fraud
ProPublica's investigation found that the fraud gangs rented or forged major US bank accounts, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America (BoA), Citibank, Wells Fargo, etc., through the Chinese black market on Telegram for collection and money laundering.
The registration of these bank accounts is extremely simple - only a company name and federal tax number are required, and sometimes even identity verification is not checked. For example, JPMorgan Chase, mentioned in the article, allowed a stranger to open an account online, completely bypassing the verification.
In some cases, the fraud group even bribed bank employees to open fake company accounts in batches. In a case of Bank of America, 176 accounts filled in the same residential address and all passed the review.
Telegram has become a "fraud dark web", and the Golden Triangle black industry is deeply involved
On Telegram, a large number of Chinese groups have long posted fraudulent advertisements, clearly marked prices for renting US bank accounts for fraudsters, ranging from a few thousand dollars to millions. They are responsible for processing the defrauded funds in batches, remittances, withdrawals, and conversions to cryptocurrencies, providing one-stop services.
The technical center behind this black industry chain is hidden in the "office group" on the upper floor of the Blue Shield Casino in the Golden Triangle.
Research has found that these offices are hotel rooms on the surface, but in fact they have become "exchanges" for the fraud industry-staff connects the fraudsters and account providers through Telegram, and commissions are paid according to successful transactions.
The victims fell into the abyss, but the bank regulators turned a blind eye
An American victim named Kevin is a typical victim of the pig-killing scam. He met a "beautiful investment mentor" on Facebook and transferred a total of 716,000 US dollars to multiple bank accounts within a few months, but all of it was lost in the end.
Most of these companies were registered with fake addresses and disposable email addresses, and some even opened accounts in Singapore banks, making cross-border money laundering unimpeded. The banks that opened these accounts are mainstream banks such as JPMorgan Chase, Cathay Bank and Singapore DBS.
Shockingly, one of the accounts Kevin transferred money to was a fake "Middlesex Truck" repair shop - this led to the absurd lawsuit at the beginning.
The loopholes in the US banking system, the fraud group took advantage of the loopholes
Why do US banks "fall" repeatedly? The reason is that the anti-money laundering mechanism relies almost entirely on bank self-examination.
Although the US Bank Secrecy Act requires financial institutions to "know your customer" (KYC) and report suspicious transactions, the law does not require these mechanisms to be "effective." In order to save costs and improve account opening efficiency, banks often turn a blind eye.
In addition, different banks rarely share risk information. Even if they find suspicious accounts, they will not take the initiative to inform other banks. This allows scammers to continue their crimes by simply changing banks.
Southeast Asia has become a base for fraud and money laundering, and US regulators still have no countermeasures
Currently, many countries around the world have taken countermeasures:
Britain: stipulates that banks must compensate fraud victims up to $116,000;
Thailand: Establish a central blacklist of fraudulent accounts;
Australia: Force banks to share account risk information.
But in the United States, similar regulations are almost non-existent. Even if a bank is sued, it is difficult to be found responsible. Most victims can only blame themselves for their bad luck, or even become "sued" in turn.
Summary: A global financial scam, behind which is the "gray money flow center" in Southeast Asia
This report reveals that the pig-killing scam has evolved from a simple scam to a "transnational, platform-based, encrypted, and systematized" financial black industry. The accounts of local American banks have become the "entry for money laundering", while Southeast Asian countries have provided the "exit for money laundering."
The American companies used by fake accounts have become the targets of lawsuits by victims of fraud - the fraudsters get away with it after they succeed, the victims lose everything, and the banks are often unscathed.