Sanctions Imposed on Tech Company Funnull for Enabling Crypto Scams

The U.S. government has taken action against a tech company accused of enabling major cybercrime operations. On May 29, 2025, the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced sanctions against a company called Funnull, which is based in the Philippines and run by a Chinese national.

According to the Treasury, Funnull has been "linked to the majority of virtual currency investment scam websites reported to the FBI." These scams, known as "pig butchering" schemes, have led to over $200 million in losses for American victims, with the average victim losing around $150,000.

Pig butchering scams typically involve criminals contacting victims online, often posing as romantic interests, in order to trick them into sending money to invest in fake crypto projects. Funnull allegedly provided key infrastructure and services to support these criminal operations.

Specifically, the Treasury states that Funnull generated domain names and website templates for the scammers, making it easier for them to impersonate legitimate brands and quickly change domains when their sites were taken down. Funnull is also accused of maliciously altering a software repository called Polyfill, in order to redirect visitors to malicious gambling and money laundering sites.

Cybersecurity researcher Zach Edwards, who previously investigated Funnull's activities, told TechCrunch that this action against the company is an important first step, but that more needs to be done to hold global threat actors accountable for financial scams targeting Americans.

The sanctions imposed on Funnull and its CEO Liu Lizhi aim to disrupt the infrastructure and services that have enabled these damaging crypto scams to proliferate. This case highlights the need for continued vigilance and collaboration between government, law enforcement, and the tech industry to combat emerging cybercrime threats.