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On January 18, 2026, in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, the Amber Casino and former fraud center owned by Chinese businessman Chen Zhi, who was deported to China.
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China’s money laundering networks will have moved approximately $16.1 billion in illicit funds through cryptocurrency transactions by 2025, according to a report released on Tuesday by blockchain data analytics firm Chainaanalysis.
These networks, known as CLMN, accounted for approximately one-fifth of the illicit cryptocurrency ecosystem in 2025, which Chainaanalysis values at over $82 billion.
The criminal network operates primarily through various channels and chat groups on the messaging platform Telegram, where money launderers advertise their services to potential clients. The posts often included pictures showing large amounts of cash and public testimonials as proof of liquidity and quality of service, the report said.
Known as “guaranteed” platforms, these Telegram-based channels act as marketing hubs or informal hosting services, connecting suppliers with potential customers. Chainaanalysis said that while these platforms do not control the underlying transactions, they are the main conduits for arranging illegal transactions.
Andrew Fierman, director of national security intelligence at Chainalysis, said that in addition to money laundering, activity on these platforms also includes other forms of criminal transactions, such as human trafficking and the sale of Starlink antennas used by fraud centers in Southeast Asia.
These are very large, well-resourced organizations. It’s not like a few criminals operating in a back room.
Mark button
Professor of Criminology, University of Portsmouth
The range of potential clients also includes organized crime groups and sanctioned state actors, Firman said.
“We’ve seen everything from North Korean funding and North Korea-related hacking to a host of other illicit activities,” Firman told CNBC.
Mark Barton, a professor of criminology at the University of Portsmouth who has studied similar networks in India and West Africa, said such Telegram-based platforms were a common vector for illicit networks around the world.
The report identifies six main techniques used by Chinese money laundering networks to launder money, which often rely on digital assets such as cryptocurrencies to discreetly move funds.
Firman said cryptocurrencies are attractive to criminals because of their liquidity, convenience and relative anonymity, especially for those trying to avoid having their funds frozen on traditional financial platforms.
Stablecoins such as Tetherissued by Tether and Circle U.S. Department of Agricultureare cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a stable value relative to a specific asset, typically a fiat currency such as the U.S. dollar. They are less volatile compared to cryptocurrencies Bitcoin or Ethereum Helps reduce transaction costs.
“If you’re involved in illegal activity, the last thing you want to do is lose more money,” Firman said. “You already have to pay for the money laundering process…the last thing you want is for Bitcoin to have a really bad week and lose another 10% of your money.”
Casinos, cryptocurrencies and crime
Barton said many organized crime groups that use cryptocurrency-based money laundering services also often move funds through seemingly legitimate businesses.
“Casinos are a classic means of laundering the proceeds of crime,” he said, adding that it was common practice for criminal groups to launder illicit funds by inflating revenue figures.
Southeast Asia has begun to become a hub for licensed and unlicensed casinos linked to organized crime since at least 2022, according to a 2024 report. Report United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
Firman noted that while the Chainaanalysis study examined organized networks using Mandarin as the primary communication medium, many transactions also originate outside of China. These include places such as Cambodia and Myanmar, where organized crime groups have been found to be operating elaborate fraud centres.
“China is actually very good at fighting these types of scams because they generally don’t like organized crime,” Barton said.
On Thursday, China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency reported that 11 members of a fraud syndicate in Myanmar were executed on charges of “intentional homicide, intentional injury, illegal detention, fraud and opening a casino.”
China has strict laws against money laundering Cryptocurrency trading prohibited Since 2021, its use in organized crime.
As a result, Chinese criminal groups often move to Southeast Asian jurisdictions such as Cambodia and Myanmar, where weak legislation and corrupt local officials allow them to operate more freely, Barton said.
Although authorities actively seek to target these transnational criminal groups, enforcement efforts have been challenging due to the complexity of their operations and the complexity of cross-border enforcement.
“These organizations are very large and well-resourced,” Barton said. “It’s not like a few criminals operating in a back room.”
Chainaanalysis estimates that by 2025, these Chinese money laundering networks will be laundering the equivalent of $44 million per day.
Firman said that despite efforts to crack down on this illegal trade, many of these networks will likely continue to evade capture. “This is how illegal actors operate. They evolve and once they are discovered, they move on to another avenue”.
