Thailand Seizes 6,390 Crypto Mining Rigs in $300M Laundering Probe

Thai authorities issued arrest warrants for eight suspects tied to three illegal cryptocurrency mining networks that the Department of Special Investigation says laundered more than 10 billion baht ($300 million) per year. The networks also stole an estimated 953 million baht (roughly $29 million) in electricity from the state utility, making it one of the largest thefts of its kind in recent Thai history.

The DSI and the Cyber Crime Bureau traced the operation back to Chinese financiers who allegedly ran a cash pipeline across the country. Four of the eight warrants target Chinese nationals. The remaining four are for Myanmar nationals who managed ground-level cash withdrawals, investigators said.

Those cash teams pulled between 30 million and 50 million baht ($920,000 to $1.5 million) a day from Thai bank accounts. The money came from phone scams, cross-border online gambling rings, and other illicit sources. The DSI said the corporate bank accounts connected to the network showed transaction volumes that did not match any legitimate business activity.

Authorities have already confiscated more than 6,390 mining machines. They also seized crypto hardware, cash, laptops, and bank passbooks from the residences of four Provincial Electricity Authority employees. The National Anti-Corruption Commission has received two case files from the DSI involving seven PEA employees, one law enforcement officer, and 13 investors or suspected accomplices.

Wang Yicheng’s Role and U.S. Ties

The DSI named Wang Yicheng as a central figure in the money laundering network. Wang is also a suspect in a U.S. digital asset fraud case. The U.S. Secret Service has seized more than $17.8 million (about 620 million baht) in digital assets linked to him, and Reuters previously reported that a crypto account registered in his name received more than $90 million in recent years. At least $9.1 million was traced by blockchain analysis firm TRM Labs to wallets associated with “pig-butchering” scams.

Wang served as vice-president of the Thai-Asia Economic Exchange Trade Association, a Bangkok-based Chinese trade group, in 2023. The group said he left its board due to failure to pay membership dues and “personal reasons.” It said background checks on Wang at the time of his appointment found no criminal record.

The DSI is seeking seven additional arrest warrants and has summoned five other individuals to face formal charges. The investigation began as an electricity theft probe in 2025 before investigators uncovered the larger financial network.

The size of the seized hardware alone – 6,390 rigs – points to a professionally run industrial operation, not a handful of hobby miners. The annual throughput of 10 billion baht suggests the cash pipeline was deeply embedded in the region’s informal financial system. The involvement of PEA employees, a police officer, and multiple company accounts indicates it did not operate in isolation from the formal economy.

What remains unclear is how much of the laundered funds have been recovered beyond the $17.8 million seized by U.S. authorities, and whether Wang’s ties extend to other countries. The U.S. Secret Service investigation continues.