US sanctions Philippine tech firm over ‘pig butchering’ scams that took US$200 million

Funnull Technology Inc, a content delivery network provider based in Metro Manila’s upscale Bonifacio Global City (BGC) district, was sanctioned last week by the US Treasury Department, along with Chinese national Liu Lizhi, described as one of its administrators.

According to the department, Funnull’s infrastructure supported more than 332,000 domain names linked to websites masquerading as legitimate cryptocurrency investment platforms. These platforms were part of a global network of online scams that “systematically targeted and exploited vulnerable individuals”, US officials said.

On average, victims lost more than US$150,000 each, the treasury said.

Tammy Bruce, spokeswoman for the US State Department, said the US “will go after those who misuse virtual currencies and internet services to perpetrate fraud and other crimes”.

She said Liu possessed internal documents showing Funnull’s employee assignments and performance tracking, including tasks such as distributing domain names to cybercriminals for use in fake investment schemes, phishing operations and online gambling.