The US this past week had announced the seizure of approximately $15 billion in Bitcoin from a so-called forced-labor pig butchering scam operation. As reported, the United States government noted that $15 billion worth of BTC was linked to a Cambodian man who allegedly carried out a “forced-labour” cryptocurrency “pig butchering” scams.
Blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic reported this past week that it had taken urgent action in order to ensure that addresses that were included in the latest designations are available “to screen and trace using Holistic blockchain analytics technology.”
Users will now be able to ensure that they do “not inadvertently process funds originating from – or being sent to – the individual included in this designation.”
Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis has also mentioned that to protect against these types of scam networks, crypto businesses should “screen transactions against newly designated entities and individuals, monitor for typical “pig butchering” scam patterns, and be alert to connections with Huione Group, which is now cut off from the U.S. financial system.”
Chainalysis further stated that they have updated their screening solutions to include “all designated individuals and entities from today’s action and will continue monitoring for additional cryptocurrency addresses and entities connected to these networks.”
According to a recent update TRM Labs, the majority of funds tied to these addresses consolidate almost “immediately into a single cluster currently holding approximately USD 14.13 billion in Bitcoin, with the remainder routed through intermediary hops to other unhosted wallets and global exchanges before reconnecting to the same cluster.”
The Department of Justice has recently confirmed that this cluster corresponds to roughly 127,271 Bitcoin, “valued at nearly USD 15 billion, which are alleged proceeds of Chen Zhi’s fraud and money laundering schemes.”
TRM Labs further noted that dormant since December of 2020, the funds are now believed “to be under U.S. government control—enabling what is officially the largest civil forfeiture action in Department of Justice history.”