Thai probe expands $300M crypto mining network, seizes rigs

Thai authorities have expanded a major investigation into an illegal cryptocurrency mining network that allegedly laundered hundreds of millions of dollars annually from online scams and gambling. The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has issued arrest warrants for eight suspects and is seeking seven more, with Chinese businessman Wang Yicheng named as a key fugitive believed to have fled the country.

The investigation, which began in 2025 as a crackdown on electricity theft, uncovered three dismantled mining networks that authorities say stole electricity worth approximately 29 million dollars from the state utility. Investigators seized more than 6,390 mining machines. As they traced the financial flows, they discovered a sophisticated laundering operation with an estimated annual turnover exceeding 300 million dollars.

Wang Yicheng was charged in November of last year with theft and offenses under Thailand's Computer Crimes Act. U.S. authorities have also identified Wang in a separate digital asset fraud inquiry. In June 2023, U.S. law enforcement seized about $500,000 in cryptocurrency from an account registered in his name, funds traced to an alleged fraud victim in...