Mongolian police arrests 800 Chinese citizens in cyber crime probe

About 800 Chinese citizens have been arrested on suspicion of running a cybercrime ring in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar. The Police have also confiscated hundreds of computers and mobile phone SIM cards as part of the investigation. At a media briefing on Thursday, head of the General Intelligence Agency of Mongolia Gerel Dorjpalam said that the arrests were made after the police raided four locations on Tuesday based on information gathered from two months of investigations. Not divulging specific details, the intelligence officer mentioned that they involved illegal gambling, fraud, computer hacking, identity theft, and money laundering. Gerel said that the police suspect that they are linked to money laundering. As per police reports, all the arrested came to Mongolia using 30-day tourist visas.

Chinese Embassy in Ulaanbaatar said that it would cooperate with the Mongolian police in the case. It added that the Mongolian police have taken the necessary measures in this case and are investigating it.

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“China and Mongolia will have open law enforcement and security cooperation, and the two parties will be working closely together on this matter,” said the Chinese Embassy.

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According to a notice by Phillippines immigration bureau, about 324 undocumented Chinese citizens were arrested in the Philippines on charges of running illegal online gaming activities and engaging in cyberfraud. Mongolian authorities informed that about one-third of 480,000 foreign tourists visiting Mongolia in the first three quarters of 2019 were Chinese. Though Mongolia is trying to diversify its economy and ease its dependence on raw materials, it has traditionally been wary of opening up its economy to China. 

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Chinese Cyber Crime Group identified by FireEye

Cybersecurity intelligence company FireEye had earlier released a report on a new Chinese Cyber Criminal group called Advanced Persistent Threat Group (APT41). In a statement, the security group said that APT41 is unique among the China-nexus actors they track in that it uses tools typically reserved for espionage campaigns in what appears to be an activity for personal gain. They are agile and well-resourced, it added. The cybercriminal group targets industries such as healthcare, telecommunications, higher education, video games, travel, and even news companies.

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