Binance Helps India Track IDR 722 Billion In Crypto Game Fraud Case

JAKARTA - Cooperation between crypto company Binance and the Indian government has succeeded in uncovering a fraud scheme involving game app Fiewin, which deceived victims of up to 47.6 million US Dollars (around Rp. 722 billion). This case is in the spotlight as an important example of how the private sector can play a role in law enforcement against technology-based financial crimes.

Fiewin is marketed as a betting platform and online game that promises easy profits for its users. However, in the end, the app withheld user funds and blocked their withdrawing money. Investigators from India's Law Enforcement Directorate (Enforcement Directorate/ED) found that this scheme involved complicated transactions, in which fraudulent proceeds were laundered through various crypto wallets, making tracking difficult.

With the help of Binance, ED can trace the flow of funds through blockchain analysis. Binance through the Financial Intelligence Investigation team (Financial Intelligence Unit/FIU) plays an important role in providing technical expertise that allows tracking these crypto transactions.

Quoted from Decrypt, ED representatives in their official statement revealed, "Collaboration between the public and private sectors is very important in dealing with complex financial crimes. Binance's special investigative team is an example of how companies can cooperate with law enforcement."

This is not the first time ED has collaborated with Binance in the disclosure of crypto fraud. Previously, ED and Binance also succeeded in dismantling a digital investment fraud scheme called E-Nugget. This collaboration has successfully frozen millions of dollars worth of illegal assets and further highlighted the importance of cooperation between legal authorities and the private sector to combat crypto-based financial crime.

Fiewin cases and other scams such as E-Nugget are only part of a surge in fraudulent schemes in the crypto space. Apart from fraud, hacking is also increasingly rampant. One of the major incidents recently was the hack of India's largest crypto exchange, WazirX, which caused the loss of more than 235 million US Dollars (approximately IDR 3.5 trillion). The investigation suspects North Korean hackers were involved in this incident.

In addition, the hacking of the Atomic Wallet which resulted in a loss of 35 million US Dollars (around Rp531 billion) and an increase in the "pig butchering" scheme that manipulated victims through fake crypto investments also demonstrated how vulnerable crypto platforms are to cyberattacks.