Southeast Asia scammers stole up to US$37 billion in 2023; Singapore ‘tip of the iceberg’: UN

“The transnational organized crime threat landscape in Southeast Asia is evolving faster than at any previous point in history,” according to a report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

“The sheer scale of proceeds being generated within the region’s booming illicit economy has required the professionalization and innovation of money laundering activities, and transnational criminal groups in Southeast Asia have emerged as global market leaders,” the report says.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked into those countries by criminal enterprises and forced to work in so-called scam centers with casinos, hotels and special economic zones among the property developments that have “become hubs for the booming illicit economy, adding to existing governance challenges in many of the region’s border areas.”