PAGCOR says firm at centre of $225M crypto seizure case by US?no longer under its jurisdiction
The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) has confirmed that ITECHNO Specialist Inc., the Manila-based business process outsourcing firm linked to a major US cryptocurrency fraud case, had its gaming licence revoked.
In a statement shared exclusively with SiGMA World, PAGCOR clarified that ITECHNO was “a former licensee whose licence was revoked by the agency in 2023.” The agency stated that the revocation occurred before the Philippine government’s total ban on offshore gaming operations, which officially took effect in December 2024.
“ITECHNO Specialist Inc.’s licence as an offshore gaming service provider was revoked on November 8, 2023,” PAGCOR stated. “As such, any activities carried out by ITECHNO are entirely outside PAGCOR’s jurisdiction and are deemed unauthorised and illegal.”
While reiterating that it does not regulate unlicensed or illegal gaming operations, PAGCOR expressed strong support for global efforts to crack down on criminal networks that exploit the gaming industry.
“PAGCOR supports efforts by local and international law enforcement authorities to dismantle criminal enterprises that exploit the gaming industry as a front for financial crimes,” the agency said. The Philippine regulator added that it remains committed to upholding “integrity, transparency, and accountability in the Philippine gaming sector” and pledged full cooperation with legitimate efforts to combat transnational crime.
US ties $225 million crypto fraud to Southeast Asia
The PAGCOR statement comes in the wake of a high-profile civil forfeiture complaint filed by the United States Department of Justice, seeking to seize $225 million in cryptocurrency linked to a transnational investment scam network. The complaint identifies operations spanning Southeast Asia.
“This is the largest seizure ever in a crypto confidence scam,” Jeanine Ferris Pirro, United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, said during a press briefing in Washington. “We filed a 100-page civil complaint to deprive criminals of their ill-gotten gains and to recoup money for hundreds of Americans.”
The criminal network behind the scheme used online romance, job ads, and fake investment platforms to lure victims a method known as pig butchering. “The crime here involves an organised crime ring linked to an international human trafficking syndicate, linked back to foreign actors in multiple compounds in Southeast Asia,” Pirro said.
The funds, according to US officials, were equivalent to $225 million in Tether (USDT) and were laundered through 144 accounts on OKX, a Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange, and then moved through thousands of intermediary wallets. These high-volume transactions were intended to conceal the source of the funds.
Manila firm with online gambling ties named
US investigators traced some of the activity to ITECHNO Specialist Inc., a Manila-based call centre firm. The company had advertised for Mandarin-speaking customer service agents. It offered visa sponsorship a pattern authorities say is consistent with the recruitment tactics used by scam compounds in the region.
Photos of individuals wearing ITECHNO lanyards were found among KYC (Know-Your-Customer) documents submitted to open fraudulent OKX accounts. “We’re here for the victims. And we’re sending a message to criminals whether they’re in the United States or Southeast Asia that we’re coming for their money,” Pirro said, while not directly accusing the firm of operating the scam.
The US Department of Justice complaint confirms the use of Vietnamese identification documents to open accounts. At the same time, IP addresses accessing these accounts were traced to the Philippines suggesting transnational human trafficking patterns often linked to scam compounds operating in Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos.
Victims worldwide, many over 60
Matthew Galoeotti, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, underscored the global scale of losses. “The FBI estimates that cryptocurrency fraud caused more than $9.3 billion in losses in 2024 alone. Of that, $5.8 billion came from investment scams,” he said.
“This particular scheme defrauded over 400 suspected victims, using complex blockchain laundering tactics across a global network of wallets. The impact is devastating especially for older victims. Individuals over 60 lost around $2.8 billion last year,” he added.
The victims were deceived into thinking they were participating in lucrative crypto investments. Scammers issued fake account statements to make the investments appear profitable. “This ends up being an economic homicide for older people,” Pirro said. “They can’t go back to work and recover what they lost.”
Largest crypto seizure in Secret Service history
Shawn Bradstreet, Special Agent in Charge at the US Secret Service’s San Francisco field office, described the operation as the agency’s largest crypto seizure ever. “We identified more than $225 million in stolen funds linked to over 400 suspect victims,” he said. “Tether voluntarily froze the assets, which were later transferred to US custody. We will return as much of these funds as possible to the victims.”
He also confirmed that the Secret Service has now frozen or seized more than $1 billion in assets tied to pig butchering scams and dismantled over 5,000 related web domains.
Scam compounds and crypto’s ‘Wild West’
The US forfeiture filing paints a picture of a decentralised, multi-layered scam model with operations across Southeast Asia. “The hopeful investor now enters the ‘Wild West’ on an international scale where the crime is global, where there are no borders, and where crypto criminals avoid the rules,” Pirro said.
Augustine Lopez of the FBI added that many of the schemes are deeply manipulative, often playing out over weeks or months. “Scammers pose as romantic partners or business mentors. The deception is emotionally calculated. This isn’t just about money.”
He emphasised the importance of public awareness. “If an investment opportunity sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Do not share personal or financial information with someone you don’t know.”
Crypto regulation in focus as US pushes back
The case has unfolded alongside a renewed push in the US for crypto regulation. Pirro pointed to the recent Senate passage of the “GENIUS Act” (Senate Bill 1582), which aims to introduce common-sense rules and promote a US-based stablecoin framework.
“The President wants America to be the crypto capital of the world,” she said. “Our job is to stop the scams. Crypto is not a get-out-of-jail-free card.”
Asked about possible scrutiny of political or promotional crypto deals, Pirro responded, “Our job right now is dealing with people being scammed out of their life savings. This is going to be a very long process. But we’re sending a message to the scammers: we’re going to freeze your money and, if possible, return it to the victims.”
Next steps and regional implications
The identification of a Manila BPO firm and regional labour trafficking indicators has reignited concerns about lax oversight in Southeast Asia’s online gambling and outsourcing sectors. Authorities and compliance experts warn that any gambling firms engaging third-party marketing agents or BPO providers in the region may be exposed to reputational and legal risks if partners are later tied to illicit networks.
Pirro closed the press conference by reiterating the importance of cross-agency collaboration and the complexity of tracking stolen funds across blockchain platforms. “We’re going to keep working hard. We’re going to send a message; we’re going to go after these people.”
