30-5-2024 (SINGAPORE) In a major crackdown on cyber criminality, a 35-year-old Chinese national, Wang Yunhe, has been arrested in Singapore for his alleged role in creating and operating a vast network of compromised computers, known as a botnet, which enabled cyber criminals to steal billions of dollars worldwide.
The arrest, part of a multi-jurisdiction operation spearheaded by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), took place on May 24, with the Singapore Police Force (SPF) playing a crucial role in the international probe.
According to a statement released by the DOJ on May 29, Wang is accused of working with others between 2014 and July 2022 to create and disseminate the 911 S5 Botnet, a sophisticated malware that infected millions of home-based Windows computers across the globe.
Botnets, a portmanteau of “robot” and “network,” refer to networks of devices that have been hijacked by hackers without the owners’ knowledge, allowing them to be controlled remotely for nefarious purposes.
“Wang allegedly created malware that compromised millions of residential computers around the world and then sold access to the infected computers to cyber criminals,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney-General Nicole Argentieri, head of the DOJ’s Criminal Division. “These criminals used the hijacked computers to conceal their identities and commit a host of crimes, from fraud to cyber stalking.”
The DOJ revealed that the 911 S5 Botnet ensnared over 19 million unique internet protocol (IP) addresses, making it the “world’s largest botnet ever.” The infected computers spanned nearly 200 countries, facilitating a wide range of computer-enabled crimes, including financial fraud, identity theft, and even child exploitation.
“The 911 S5 Botnet infected computers in nearly 200 countries and facilitated a whole host of computer-enabled crimes, including financial frauds, identity theft and child exploitation,” said Christopher Wray, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
According to the DOJ, Wang, who also holds citizenship from St. Kitts and Nevis, allegedly received a staggering US$99 million (S$134 million) from cyber criminals who tapped into his network between 2018 and July 2022. He is accused of using these ill-gotten gains to purchase 21 properties across the United States, St. Kitts and Nevis, Singapore, Thailand, China, and the United Arab Emirates.
Court documents reveal that Wang resided in properties he owned in Singapore, Thailand, and China, and operated several companies across various jurisdictions, including Eternal Code in Singapore, which was incorporated on December 30, 2020, and subsequently struck off on November 25, 2023.
Dozens of Wang’s assets and properties, including a Singapore-registered 2022 Ferrari F8 Spider, bank accounts with CIMB Bank, Citibank Singapore, and banks in Thailand, a condominium unit in Angullia Park, and Patek Philippe watches, may be seized, according to the DOJ.
The DOJ further alleged that Wang’s customers had targeted COVID-19 relief programs in the United States, resulting in losses exceeding US$5.9 billion due to fraudulent claims made from compromised IP addresses.
Wang’s arrest was a multi-agency effort involving law enforcement agencies from the United States, Singapore, Thailand, and Germany. Authorities searched residences and seized assets valued at approximately US$30 million, identifying an additional US$30 million in forfeitable property.
Additionally, 23 domains and more than 70 servers located worldwide, which functioned as the backbone of Wang’s criminal activities, were seized.
In a parallel move, the U.S. Treasury Department has placed Wang on its sanctions list, along with two other Chinese nationals, Liu Jingping and Zheng Yanni, and three businesses tied to Wang. Both Liu and Zheng hold passports from St. Kitts and Nevis, issued on May 13, 2022.
If convicted on all counts, Wang faces a maximum sentence of 65 years in a U.S. prison for his alleged crimes.
