A recent United Nations report showed that criminal networks in Southeast Asia are increasingly using the messaging app Telegram to facilitate illicit activities, ranging from trading hacked data to laundering money through unlicensed cryptocurrency exchanges.
The UN Office for Drugs and Crime found that organized crime syndicates are exploiting Telegram’s loose moderation and encrypted messaging features to carry out large-scale illegal operations. The UN’s findings, as reported by Reuters, highlight the vast scale of cybercrime and money laundering on the platform.
Criminals use the app to trade sensitive information, including credit card details and passwords, while purchasing tools like malware to steal funds via the messaging app.
According to the report, unlicensed crypto exchanges advertised on the app offer services that enable money laundering for criminal organizations.
Telegram’s role Southeast Asian crime
The report focuses on Southeast Asia, where Chinese crime syndicates operate billion-dollar fraud schemes. According to the UNODC, these operations generate between $27.4 billion and $36.5 billion annually.
The report cites one example of a group advertising that it can move $3 million worth of stolen Tether (USDT) per day.
Last week, Vietnamese police dismantled an international crypto fraud network operating from Laos’ Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone, arresting five suspects. The scammers swindled over 17.6 billion VND through fake romantic relationships and fraudulent investments on a platform called “Biconomynft.”
Telegram’s dance with law enforcement
Telegram has close to 1 billion users, but its founder, Pavel Durov, has come under recent scrutiny. In August, Durov was arrested in Paris, charged with allowing the platform to facilitate criminal activities, including the distribution of child sexual images.
This has sparked debates about messaging platforms’ responsibility to prevent criminal activity while balancing users’ privacy rights.
For those unfamiliar with crypto, platforms like Telegram play a key role in enabling encrypted communication but can also be misused. Criminals can exploit assets to move funds quickly and anonymously, making it difficult for authorities to track the flow of illegal money.
After his arrest, Durov announced updates to the platform’s moderation policies in response to concerns over the misuse of its search functionality. He stated that Telegram may disclose the IP addresses and phone numbers of rule violators to authorities following valid legal requests.
