UN Report Highlights Telegram’s Role in Southeast Asia’s Organized Crime Networks
According to a report released by the United Nations on Monday, powerful criminal networks in Southeast Asia extensively utilize the messaging app Telegram, resulting in a fundamental shift in how organized crime conducts large-scale illicit activities. This report adds to the growing concerns surrounding the controversial encrypted app, especially following France’s recent actions, which charged Telegram’s founder Pavel Durov under a stringent new law for permitting criminal activities on the platform.
The report, published by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), reveals that hacked data—including credit card information, passwords, and browser histories—are openly traded on a massive scale within Telegram’s sprawling channels, which feature minimal moderation. It also indicates that tools used for cybercrime, such as deepfake software designed for fraud and data-stealing malware, are widely available for purchase. Unlicensed cryptocurrency exchanges that provide money laundering services have also proliferated on the app.
One advertisement quoted in the report stated in Chinese, “We move 3 million USDT stolen from overseas per day.” The report highlighted that there is “strong evidence of underground data markets migrating to Telegram,” with vendors actively targeting transnational organized crime groups in Southeast Asia.
This region has emerged as a significant hub for a multibillion-dollar industry that conducts fraudulent schemes targeting victims worldwide, primarily driven by Chinese syndicates operating from fortified compounds staffed by trafficked workers. UNODC estimates that this industry generates between $27.4 billion and $36.5 billion annually.
Durov, a Russian-born entrepreneur, was arrested in Paris in August and charged with allowing criminal activity on the platform, including the dissemination of sexual images of children. His arrest has brought attention to the criminal liability of app providers and sparked debate about the boundaries between freedom of speech and law enforcement.
Telegram, which boasts nearly 1 billion users, has not responded to requests for comment. After his arrest, Durov, who is currently out on bail, stated that the app would comply with legal requests by providing users’ IP addresses and phone numbers to authorities. He also mentioned plans to remove certain features that have been exploited for illegal activities.
Benedikt Hofmann, UNODC’s deputy representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, emphasized that the app has become a navigable environment for criminals. “For consumers, this means their data is at a higher risk of being fed into scams or other criminal activity than ever before,” he told Reuters.
The report further noted that the immense profits garnered by criminal groups in the region have compelled them to innovate their operations, incorporating new business models and technologies, such as malware, generative artificial intelligence, and deepfakes. UNODC has identified more than ten deepfake software service providers specifically targeting criminal groups engaged in cyber-enabled fraud in Southeast Asia.
In South Korea, police have reportedly launched an investigation into Telegram, focusing on whether the platform facilitates online sex crimes, as the country is believed to be a primary target of deepfake pornography. Additionally, last month, a hacker allegedly used chatbots on Telegram to leak sensitive data from Star Health, a leading Indian insurer, prompting the company to file a lawsuit against the platform. Through the chatbots, sensitive policy and claims documents, including names, phone numbers, addresses, tax details, ID copies, test results, and medical diagnoses, were reportedly downloaded.
(Source: Reuters)
