A California resident named Ken Liem has initiated a $3 million lawsuit against three banks in Asia, accusing them of neglecting fundamental Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) procedures, which allegedly enabled a $1 million cryptocurrency scam. The lawsuit targets Hong Kong-based Fubon Bank Limited and Chong Hing Bank Limited, as well as Singapore-based DBS Bank, claiming they all played a role in Liem’s financial loss.
Liem fell victim to a “pig butchering” scam, a deceptive scheme wherein fraudsters cultivate trust by posing as romantic partners or professional contacts, ultimately convincing victims to invest in fraudulent cryptocurrency ventures. Liem alleges he was approached on LinkedIn in June 2023 with a promising crypto investment opportunity and was subsequently manipulated into transferring nearly $1 million to bank accounts supposedly managed by the named banks.
The lawsuit claims that the banks failed to carry out necessary KYC and AML checks that could have identified and stopped fraudulent activities. Additionally, it asserts that the banks breached the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act, given that DBS Bank has a branch in California and transactions from Fubon Bank and Chong Hing Bank involved a Wells Fargo account based in the U.S., bringing them under American financial regulations. The act mandates financial institutions to track, document, and report suspicious activities to curb fraud and money laundering.
Four Hong Kong-based companies—Richou Trade Limited, FFQI Trade Limited, Xibing Limited, and Weidel Limited—are also implicated for allegedly opening accounts on Liem’s behalf and redirecting the funds to third-party accounts without authorization. Liem is pursuing at least $3 million in damages from both the banks and the identified entities.
The lawsuit highlights a rising concern over pig butchering scams, which were identified as a major financial threat in 2024, with reports suggesting such scams drained approximately $3.6 billion from the crypto sector. In a similar case, Hector Gustav Gutierrez, an American citizen, filed a lawsuit in late 2024 after losing 33 Bitcoin to a purported pig butchering scam allegedly orchestrated by a criminal group in Southeast Asia.
