The U.S. Department of the Treasury has imposed sanctions on Funnull Technology, a Philippines-based tech company, and its alleged administrator, Liu Lizhi, for aiding in the operation of thousands of cryptocurrency scam websites.
According to the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Funnull played a critical role in enabling cybercriminals by supplying technical infrastructure to fraudulent investment platforms. The company reportedly purchased IP addresses in bulk from cloud providers and resold them to scammers, who used them to host fake trading sites that mimicked legitimate platforms.
Victims of these schemes have collectively lost more than $200 million, the agency said in its announcement on May 29. In one incident this year, Funnull was accused of modifying a repository of developer code to redirect users from trusted websites to scam and gambling pages.
“These services help scammers impersonate reputable brands and rapidly adapt their operations when law enforcement or hosting providers attempt takedowns,” OFAC said.
Liu Lizhi, a Chinese national and the company’s alleged administrator, was added to OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) list. As a result, all assets he holds in the U.S. are frozen, and American individuals and businesses are prohibited from conducting any transactions with him or Funnull. Violations may result in civil or criminal charges.
Two cryptocurrency wallets linked to Funnull were also sanctioned. Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis noted that the wallets likely received payments from cybercriminals and showed indirect ties to a range of online scams and infrastructure services.
Chainalysis further identified Funnull as a key node in what it calls the “Triad Nexus,” a cybercriminal network that operates over 200,000 scam-related hostnames and deceptive investment apps.
Under the sanctions, all U.S. persons must refrain from interacting with any property or business interest in which Liu Lizhi or Funnull holds a 50% or greater stake.
