Bessent vows US crackdown as Southeast Asia scam centres steal billionsLast updated: September 10, 2026 | 05:584 MIN READA work station at the scam compound in O'Smach, Cambodia, Tuesday, April 7, 2026, following a raid by authorities. US Treasury sanctioned Xinbi Guarantee, a Chinese-language financial platform that Washington says has become a major piece of the infrastructure supporting cyber scams, money laundering and other criminal activity. APWashington is escalating the battle against Southeast Asia's scam centres, by going after the people, money, technology and political protection that allow them to thrive.US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that Washington will use its financial power to disrupt criminal networks that have stolen billions of dollars from Americans.“Scam centres in Southeast Asia steal billions of dollars from American victims each year,” Bessent said Wednesday as the US Treasury sanctioned Xinbi Guarantee, a Chinese-language financial platform that Washington says has become a major piece of the infrastructure supporting cyber scams, money laundering and other criminal activity.Crackdown
The Treasury action was coordinated with the Justice Department's Scam Centre Strike Force, which simultaneously moved against Xinbi's infrastructure and digital-asset wallets.The latest crackdown shows that Washington is increasingly treating Southeast Asia's scam compounds not simply as a consumer-fraud problem but as a transnational organised-crime, human-trafficking and financial-security threat.Billions stolen — and the money trail is the target
