The U.S. sanctions a Philippines tech company accused of supporting crypto scams, escalating efforts to curb international digital fraud operations
OFAC asserts that Funnull Technology acquired a code repository that is utilized by web developers and modified it to redirect legitimate websites to fraudulent websites.
The United States Treasury has imposed sanctions on a technology firm headquartered in the Philippines and its purported administrator, alleging that they have provided services to thousands of cryptocurrency fraud websites.
According to the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Funnull Technology is associated with most crypto fraud websites that have been reported to the FBI, and the victims’ losses have exceeded $200 million. This information was issued on May 29.
According to OFAC, Funnull purchases IP addresses in quantity from cloud service providers and resells them to scammers. This enables them to host and operate clones of legitimate investment platforms, thereby deceiving victims and stealing their crypto.
In 2024, OFAC reported that Funnell acquired a code repository utilized by web developers and modified the code to redirect visitors to scam websites and online wagering sites.
OFAC said:
“These services not only make it easier for cybercriminals to impersonate trusted brands when creating scam websites but also allow them to quickly change to different domain names and IP addresses when legitimate providers attempt to take the websites down,”
Funnull administrator-approved cryptocurrency accounts.
As part of the sanctions, Liu Lizhi, the accused administrator of Funnull and a Chinese national who oversaw the company’s personnel, was also included in OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) list.
Individuals on the SDN list are generally prohibited from engaging in any financial transactions or business dealings with them in the United States, and any assets they possess in the country are blocked. Violations of this policy may result in civil and criminal penalties.
OFAC also sanctioned two wallet addresses that it claimed were associated with Funnull. Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis stated in a May 29 report that these addresses were likely “used to receive payment from cyber criminals.”
Chainalysis said:
“Additionally, the addresses show indirect exposure to various types of scams and domain management infrastructure vendors,”
Chainalysis was asserted. Funnell is a central figure in the Triad Nexus, a network encompassing more than 200,000 distinct hostnames linked to investment schemes and fraudulent trading applications.
The sanctions prohibited all property and business interests in the United States, where Lizhi and Funnull have more than 50% stake. Violations of this prohibition may result in civil or criminal penalties.
