OFAC Sanctions Funnull Technology for Involvement in Pig Butchering Scams
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has sanctioned Funnull Technology Inc., a Philippines-based tech company, for aiding pig butchering scams through its computer infrastructure. This action includes sanctions against Liu Lizhi, the company's administrator.
- Funnull Technology facilitated over $200 million in losses to U.S. scam victims.
- Victims reported average losses exceeding $150,000 each.
- Pig butchering schemes involve grooming victims to invest large sums in fraudulent crypto opportunities.
- Scams predominantly organized by Southeast Asian criminal groups using labor trafficking victims.
Last year, OFAC sanctioned Cambodian businessman Ly Yong Phat for similar activities related to human trafficking and torture.
- Funnull Technology provides cybercriminals with IP addresses from global cloud service providers for hosting scam websites.
- These sites mimic legitimate platforms to deceive investors.
- Liu managed tasks such as assigning domain names linked to various online frauds.
As a result of these sanctions, all U.S. persons are prohibited from engaging in transactions with Funnull Technology and Liu Lizhi.