$4M Reward for Daren Li Arrest in Southeast Asia Money Laundering Case
Summary
The Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs is announcing a reward offer of up to $4 million under the Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program for information leading to the arrest of Daren Li, a dual citizen of China and St. Kitts and Nevis convicted and sentenced on money laundering charges in the U.S. Court for the Central District of California but who remains a fugitive. Li admitted to conspiring to launder proceeds from cryptocurrency scams operated by Southeast Asian fraud centers, with at least $73.6 million in victim funds directly deposited into accounts associated with him and his co-conspirators, including at least $59.8 million from U.S. shell companies. The reward offer complements parallel DOJ charges, Telegram channel seizures, 503 fraudulent domain seizures, and Treasury sanctions targeting a Cambodian senator who controls scam compounds.
“Today, the Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs is announcing a reward offer under the Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program (TOCRP) of up to $4 million for information leading to the arrest of Daren Li for facilitating the laundering of proceeds for various scam centers in Southeast Asia.”
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What changed
The Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs has issued a reward offer of up to $4 million under the Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program (TOCRP) for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Daren Li. Li was previously convicted and sentenced in the U.S. Court for the Central District of California on money laundering charges but has fled and remains a fugitive. The reward offer is explicitly authorized by the Secretary of State under TOCRP and is coordinated with a broader interagency enforcement action including DOJ charges against two Chinese nationals, seizure of a Telegram recruitment channel, seizure of 503 fraudulent web domains, and Treasury sanctions against Kok An and 28 individuals and entities in his network. Interested parties should contact the U.S. Secret Service via email at MostWanted@usss.dhs.gov, contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate if outside the United States, or contact local USSS offices if in the United States. All identities are kept strictly confidential and government officials are not eligible for rewards.
Financial institutions and compliance teams should note the specific money laundering methodology described: Li instructed co-conspirators to open U.S. bank accounts on behalf of shell companies and monitored the receipt and execution of interstate and international wire transfers of victim funds. The case illustrates how fraud proceeds from overseas scam centers are funneled through U.S. shell companies and cryptocurrency to avoid detection under anti-money laundering provisions. Institutions should review correspondent banking and wire transfer monitoring procedures for potential links to similar shell company structures or Southeast Asia-based scam proceeds. The coordinated multi-agency action — spanning DOJ, DOS, Treasury, and international partners — signals continued enforcement focus on transnational organized crime involving Southeast Asian fraud operations.
Archived snapshot
Apr 23, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
Home Office of the Spokesperson Press Releases … Reward Offer of Up to $4 Million for Information Leading to Arrest of Chinese Scam Center Money Launderer hide
Reward Offer of Up to $4 Million for Information Leading to Arrest of Chinese Scam Center Money Launderer
Press Statement
Thomas "Tommy" Pigott, Principal Deputy Spokesperson
April 23, 2026
Today, the Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs is announcing a reward offer under the Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program (TOCRP) of up to $4 million for information leading to the arrest of Daren Li for facilitating the laundering of proceeds for various scam centers in Southeast Asia. Li was convicted and sentenced on money laundering charges in the U.S. Court for the Central District of California but remains a fugitive.
According to court documents, Li, a citizen of the People’s Republic of China and St. Kitts and Nevis who resided at various times in the People’s Republic of China, Cambodia, and the United Arab Emirates, admitted to conspiring with others to launder funds obtained from victims through cryptocurrency scams and related fraud. Scam centers use the services of money launderers who use cryptocurrency to transfer scam proceeds from victims in the United States and to avoid detection through anti-money laundering provisions.
Li instructed co-conspirators to open U.S. bank accounts on behalf of shell companies and monitored the receipt and execution of interstate and international wire transfers of victim funds. Li admitted that at least $73.6 million in victim funds were directly deposited into bank accounts associated with him and his co-conspirators, including at least $59.8 million from U.S. shell companies that laundered victim proceeds.
Today’s reward offer complements the Department of Justice’s announcement of charges against two Chinese nationals running a scam compound in Burma and attempting to start a compound in Cambodia, the seizure of a Telegram messaging app channel used to recruit human trafficking victims to a scam compound in Cambodia, and the seizure of 503 fraudulent web domains used to perpetrate cryptocurrency investment fraud, and Department of the Treasury’s announcement of sanctions targeting against Kok An, a Cambodian senator who controls scam compounds throughout the country, as well as 28 individuals and entities in his network.
Today’s reward offer is authorized by the Secretary of State under the TOCRP , which supports law enforcement efforts to disrupt transnational crime globally. If you have information, please contact the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) by email at **MostWanted@usss.dhs.gov* i* f you are located outside of the United States, you may also contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. If you are in the United States, you may also contact the local USSS office in your city.
ALL IDENTITIES ARE KEPT STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL. Government officials and employees are not eligible for rewards.
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Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Office of the Spokesperson Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program
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