Brendan Hanifin Discusses Implications of U.S. Treasury Sanctions on Cambodian Tycoon in ‘Pig Butchering’ Crypto Scam

In The News
September 18, 2024

The U.S. government recently announced sanctions against Cambodian tycoon Ly Yong Phat and several of his businesses, including conglomerate LYP Group, for alleged human rights abuses, including human trafficking and torture, tied to a ‘pig butchering’ scam involving a fake cryptocurrency investment platform.

With the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control placing Ly and LYP Group on the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list, the U.S. is barring all U.S. persons – including citizens overseas and residents living in America – from transacting with him in any way. This could have a serious impact on his business activities.

In a CoinDesk article republished in Yahoo Finance, anti-corruption and international risk partner Brendan Hanifin explained that because the sanctions against Ly and his companies will drastically curtail their ability to transact with international counterparties, as well as to access capital. “The SDN designation is likely equivalent to a corporate death sentence,” said Brendan.