The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released a report on Monday, revealing that Asian crime syndicates have increasingly integrated service-based business models and advanced technologies—including malware, generative artificial intelligence (AI), and deepfakes—into their operations alongside the establishment of new underground markets and cryptocurrency solutions for money laundering.

The report, titled Transnational Organized Crime and the Convergence of Cyber-Enabled Fraud, Underground Banking, and Technological Innovation :A Shifting Threat Landscape marks the second installment in a series of ongoing threat analyses by the UNODC, It highlights how organized crime groups are evolving their tactics in response to technological advancements and regulatory gaps.

According to UNODC, the report highlights the growing trend of organized crime groups utilizing underregulated online gambling platforms and high-risk virtual asset service providers (VASPs) to facilitate the movement, laundering, and integration of billions in criminal proceeds into the financial system without accountability. The findings illustrate that illegal online casino operators have diversified their business models to incorporate cyber-enabled fraud and cryptocurrency-based money laundering services. Notably, there is significant evidence of organized crime influence in casino compounds, special economic zones, and border areas.

Masood Karimipour, UNODC Regional Representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, warned that “organized crime groups are converging and exploiting vulnerabilities, and the evolving situation is rapidly outpacing governments’ capacity to contain it.” He also stated, “Leveraging technological advances, criminal groups are producing larger-scale and harder-to-detect fraud, money laundering, underground banking, and online scams. This has led to the creation of a criminal service economy, and the region has now emerged as a key testing ground for transnational criminal networks looking to expand their influence and diversify into new business lines.”

Additionally, the report discusses the disturbing practice of human trafficking for forced criminality, where organized crime groups routinely coerce thousands of individuals to perpetrate scams from illegal compounds, often through deceptive job advertisements. UNODC estimates that financial losses from scams targeting victims in East and Southeast Asia reached between US $18 billion and $37 billion in 2023, with a significant portion attributed to activities carried out by organized crime groups. Furthermore, there has been a significant rise in AI-driven crimes, particularly involving deepfakes, with a reported 600% increase in deepfake-related content connected to criminal activities in Southeast Asia in the first half of 2024.

“The integration of generative artificial intelligence by transnational criminal groups involved in cyber-enabled fraud is a complex and alarming trend observed in Southeast Asia, and one that represents a powerful force multiplier for criminal activities, said John Wojcik, UNODC Regional Analyst. “These developments have not only expanded the scope and efficiency of cyber-enabled fraud and cybercrime; they have also lowered the barriers to entry for criminal networks that previously lacked the technical skills to exploit more sophisticated and profitable methods.”

The UNODC urges governments to prioritize addressing the growing criminal ecosystem fueled by technological innovation. Building on the ASEAN Regional Cooperation Roadmap, the report provides recommendations for enhancing government responses to transnational organized crime through improved legislation, policy measures, and regulatory enforcement.