Thailand Expands Crackdown on Illegal Crypto Mining Linked to Chinese Crime Syndicates

Thailand's top investigative agency is widening a crackdown on illegal crypto mining that it says doubles as a laundering machine for Chinese-linked crime syndicates.

The Department of Special Investigation said on Friday it had expanded its probe into a network of "grey" Chinese capital, a term for illicit funds moved through legitimate-looking channels, tied to illegal mining and transnational money laundering, with financial flows of over 10 billion baht ($300 million) a year, according to a DSI press release.

The case grew out of 2025 raids in which the DSI's Technology and Cyber Crime Bureau dismantled three mining networks accused of stealing electricity to run their rigs. Authorities seized more than 6,390 machines and put the damage to the state-run Provincial Electricity Authority at over 953 million baht, roughly $29 million, one of the largest utility thefts in recent memory.

Investigators say the mining operations served as a hub for laundering proceeds from call-center scams and online gambling, with Myanmar nationals recruited to withdraw 30 million to 50 million baht, around $920,000 to $1.5 million, in cash from Thai banks each day.

The DSI has issued arrest warrants for eight suspects including four Chinese financiers and four Myanmar nationals, and is seeking seven more while summoning five other people to face charges.

One key figure, named by the DSI as Wang Yicheng, is a suspect in a major digital-asset fraud case flagged by U.S. law enforcement. The U.S. Secret Service has seized more than $17.8 million (around 620 million baht) in crypto linked to him, connected to losses exceeding 2 billion baht.

Wang, a Bangkok-based businessman, had already drawn American scrutiny: the Secret Service previously traced funds from a U.S. scam victim to a crypto account in his name, which authorities linked to a "pig butchering" operation.

The probe has also ensnared Thai officials. The DSI has referred two cases to the National Anti-Corruption Commission involving seven electricity authority officials, a law enforcement officer, and 13 investors or alleged accomplices accused of helping the miners tap power and dodge detection.

The expansion builds on a run of raids that began last December, when the DSI seized 3,642 rigs worth $8.6 million from sites linked to Chinese scam networks operating out of Myanmar.