UN: Southeast Asian Crime Networks Build Global Illicit Economy with Tech

Southeast Asia-based criminal groups are utilizing increasingly integrated networks and advanced technology to construct a rapidly expanding illicit economy that extends globally, according to a United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report released this week. Scams alone are estimated to have caused combined losses of $88.3 billion to $114.1 billion in 2025. The report highlights a shift where transnational crime, once concentrated in Southeast Asia, has now spread to other regions, while simultaneously, global criminal organizations are intensifying their involvement in drug, human, and wildlife trafficking within Asia.

Criminals are employing new technologies to launder money through international financial systems and are using artificial intelligence to defraud victims worldwide. A significant concern raised in the report is the escalating threat to children, both from AI and online gaming platforms. Hundreds of scam compounds located across Southeast Asia are reportedly serving as hubs for sex trafficking and the distribution of child sexual abuse content. Inshik Sim, a UNODC researcher and the report's coordinator, stated at a briefing that there has been a substantial increase in AI-generated child sexual images, disseminated via encrypted communication platforms.

East Asian crime syndicates are operating businesses that deploy malware, generative AI, and deepfakes for sexual extortion and exploitation. This trend amplifies the risks of in-person abuse, livestreamed abuse, and the grooming of victims. Beyond trafficking for the sex industry, the report indicates that victims are also being exploited through forced domestic servitude, forced begging, and forced labor. The report also points to social media, online gaming, and online gambling as significant dangers for children, citing surveys that reveal hundreds of children and teenagers in Southeast Asia are involved in online gambling, with some developing addictions.