The United States and the United Kingdom have formalised a joint law‑enforcement alliance aimed at dismantling scam centres that facilitate crypto and cyber‑enabled investment fraud. The agreement, announced by the US Department of Justice, was signed by the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the Crown Prosecution Service of England and Wales and the UK National Crime Agency.
Described by the DOJ as a “first‑of‑its‑kind” international cooperation accord, the memorandum sets out a framework for parallel investigations into shared targets, the exchange of intelligence on organised‑crime syndicates and coordination on jurisdictional decisions for prosecutions. The agencies also plan an in‑person disruption operation with private‑sector partners in London in early October.
The pact expands the Scam Center Strike Force, a task force launched in November 2025 by US Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro to target Chinese organised‑crime networks that run scam centres primarily in Southeast Asia. Those operations often combine crypto investment fraud with human‑trafficking and money‑laundering schemes. The expanded force includes the FBI, US Secret Service, IRS Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, and other Justice Department offices, working alongside the Treasury, State Department and private companies to seize assets and recover victims’ funds.
US losses from crypto investment fraud have surged, with reports to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center rising 89 % to $8.65 billion in 2025 from $4.57 billion in 2023. The new alliance follows recent multinational raids, such as a Dubai‑led operation on 29 April that involved the FBI and China’s Ministry of Public Security, resulting in 276 arrests and the shutdown of at least nine crypto scam centres.
Southeast Asian governments are also tightening domestic measures. Myanmar’s military government released draft legislation on 15 May proposing sentences of 10 years to life imprisonment for digital‑currency fraud, with the death penalty possible for deaths linked to forced labour at scam centres. Parliament approved the bill on 28 July, though presidential assent remains pending.
