TL;DR:
- The U.S. and U.K. signed a landmark agreement to combat crypto scams, conducting parallel investigations and sharing information between agencies.
- Losses reported to the FBI from crypto fraud reached $8.65 billion in 2025, an 89% increase from $4.57 billion in 2023.
- Both countries plan a disruption operation with private sector partners in London in October, while Myanmar approved penalties of up to life imprisonment for digital scams.
Cryptocurrency investment scams generated losses of $8.65 billion in the United States during 2025, according to data from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center cited by the Department of Justice.
Faced with that complex landscape, the DOJ announced on Thursday the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the Crown Prosecution Service of England and Wales, and the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency. The agreement was presented as the first of its kind aimed at dismantling global crypto fraud centers and investment cybercrime operations.
First Joint Step Against International Scams
Under the terms of the memorandum, the participating agencies will conduct parallel investigations into shared targets, share intelligence on organized crime syndicates, and coordinate which jurisdiction should prosecute each case. Authorities have already identified overlapping cases and have planned an in-person operation with private sector partners in London for early October.
The agreement will expand the reach of the Scam Center Strike Force, launched in November 2025 by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro to target Chinese organized crime networks operating scam centers primarily across Southeast Asia. These schemes combine crypto investment fraud with human trafficking and money laundering. The task force includes the FBI, the Secret Service, the IRS Criminal Investigation Division, Homeland Security Investigations, and Department of Justice offices, along with coordination from the Treasury, the State Department, and private companies.
International Coordination Takes Shape
Joint efforts are already yielding results. On April 29, the DOJ reported an operation led by Dubai police with participation from the FBI and China’s Ministry of Public Security, which resulted in 276 arrests and the closure of at least nine crypto scam centers. Six individuals were charged in connection with schemes that used fake investment platforms to collect deposits from victims.
Southeast Asian governments tightened their domestic legal frameworks. On May 15, Myanmar’s military government introduced a bill proposing sentences of between 10 years and life imprisonment for cryptocurrency scams, including the possibility of the death penalty when victims forced to work at those centers died as a result. On July 28, Parliament approved the legislation, though presidential enactment has not yet been confirmed.
