17/05/2025

SATURDAY | MAY 17, 2025

8 Telegram blocks black markets WASHINGTON: Two sprawling digital black markets operating on Telegram have been removed, the service said on Thursday. Xinbi Guarantee and Huione Guarantee, which are Chinese-language markets known for serving cybercriminals and scammers, appeared to be inactive on Thursday. Telegram provided little further detail in a message to Reuters except to say “criminal activities such as scamming or money laundering are forbidden by Telegram’s terms of service and are removed whenever discovered”. Blockchain research firm Elliptic said the two markets had collectively facilitated more than US$35 billion (RM149 billion) in transactions since 2021, many times higher than other black markets, such as the drug-focused Silk Road, which drew international notoriety for distributing drugs over the dark web. “This is a big blow for online fraudsters, who relied on these markets for stolen data, money laundering services and telecoms infrastructure,” said Elliptic. In a brief, English-language statement posted on its website, Huione Guarantee confirmed that it had been blocked by Telegram starting Tuesday and would “cease operations from now on”. The firm did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment and Reuters could not immediately locate contact information for Xinbi Guarantee. Huione Guarantee is a subsidiary of Cambodia-based Huione Group, which also owns Huione Pay and Huione Crypto, US officials have alleged. Last year, Reuters revealed that Huione Pay had received cryptocurrency then worth more than US$150,000 from a digital wallet used by North Korean hacking outfit Lazarus. The report was followed earlier this month by a US move to bar the Huione Group from the US financial system. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Huione Group is the “marketplace of choice for malicious cyber actors”. The Huione Group did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. – Reuters

Group eyes multibillion-dollar high-speed rail project

Nasdaq-listed electric vehicle maker VinFast, is hugely powerful in Vietnam, and its business interests span from healthcare to real estate, education and tech. The conglomerate is owned by Vietnam’s richest man Pham Nhat Vuong. Last month, Vingroup broke ground on a US$9 billion dollar real estate project in a southern coastal area that is home to a Unesco-listed mangrove forest. Communist-run Vietnam has one of the lowest expressway densities in the region, although the country is pushing to expand it, and road transport costs are among the highest. The country has been an increasingly favoured destination for foreign businesses looking for an alternative to China but low-quality infrastructure is seen as holding back surging investment. – AFP

land clearance. “We will exert our best efforts to develop the project (and) pay the loans in due time,” said Vinspeed deputy director Dao Thuy Van. The statement added that Vinspeed’s proposal “would significantly help reduce pressure for the state budget”. Vietnam’s rubber-stamp National Assembly in 2010 scrapped the high-speed project, then estimated at US$56 billion, over fears that it was too costly. Following a meeting on Monday, various ministries and agencies largely welcomed and supported Vingroup’s proposal, according to state-controlled newspaper Tuoi Tre . The government said it wanted to reach a decision before May 22, which would then be submitted to the National Assembly, which is currently in session. Vingroup, parent group of

o Project to drive growth and enhance nation’s reputation among foreign investors

HANOI: biggest conglomerate Vingroup said yesterday it has submitted a proposal to build the country’s multibillion-dollar high-speed railway from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, with state media reporting that the government had welcomed the plan. The project, which was slated to cost US$67 billion (RM285 billion) when it was approved in November, is a boost to infrastructure that is expected to drive growth and enhance Vietnam’s reputation among foreign investors. The line will stretch more than 1,500km from the capital in the north to the country’s business hub in the south, and reduce the journey time Vietnam’s

by rail from 30 hours to around five. Vingroup confirmed to AFP yesterday that it has submitted a proposal to the government to build the line. Vinspeed, a newly established company as part of the Vingroup empire, said the project would cost US$61 billion, and would start in December and be finished by 2030, five years ahead of the schedule set out last year. The company said it would commit to mobilising 20% of the total capital, equivalent to US$12.27 billion. It proposed a zero-interest loan from the state for the remaining 80%, excluding costs related to compensation and resettlement for

Vietnam, Thailand upgrade ties to comprehensive strategic partnership HANOI: Vietnam and Thailand yesterday announced that they have upgraded their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership, Vietnamese state media reported.

The announcement was made after Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra met her Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh during her two-day visit to Hanoi. Thailand is Vietnam’s largest trading partner among Asean members, with bilateral trade exceeding US$20 billion (RM85 billion) last year, the Vietnamese government said yesterday. Thai firms have invested more than US$14 billion in Vietnam. Chinh and Shinawatra yesterday witnessed the signing of cooperation documents, including memorandums of understanding on cooperation in trade, anti-narcotics, banking, education and aviation, according to documents reviewed by Reuters. The neighbours aim to increase their bilateral trade to US$25 billion annually by 2030, the Vietnamese government said. – Reuters

Chinh and Shinawatra during a welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi yesterday. – AFPPIC

Monk held for temple embezzlement BANGKOK: Thai police have arrested a Buddhist monk over allegations that he embezzled more than US$9 million (RM38 million) from the prominent temple he ran, which was funded by donations from devotees. Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) investigators accused Abbot Temples in Buddhist-majority Thailand rely heavily on income from “merit-making” ceremonies in which worshippers make donations in hopes of gaining good fortune and better reincarnation. Police charged Phra

Indian, Filipino climbers die on Mount Everest KATHMANDU: An Indian climber and another from the Philippines became the first mountaineers to die on Mount Everest in the current March-May climbing season of the world’s highest peak, hiking officials said yesterday. “death zone”, which is an area between the 8km-high South Col and the summit, where the level of natural oxygen is inadequate for survival. “Efforts are under way to bring his body down to the base camp. The cause of death will be known after a post-mortem,” said Bhandari.

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expedition organised by Bhandari. Nepal has issued 459 permits to climb Everest during the current season that ends in May. Nearly 100 climbers and their guides have reached the summit this week. Mountain climbing, trekking and tourism is a source of income and employment for Nepal, one of the poorest countries in the world. At least 345 people have died on Everest in more than 100 years since summiting expeditions were known to have started, according to the Himalayan data base and hiking officials. – Reuters

Thammachiranuwat with corruption and malfeasance, said CIB deputy commissioner Jaroonkiat Pankaew. “This (arrest) is to help purify our religion.“ Authorities have arrested a second suspect and are investigating whether others were involved while local media reported that the abbot has left the monkhood. – AFP

Subrata Ghosh, 45, from India, died on Thursday below the Hillary Step while returning after reaching the 8.84km peak. “He refused to descend from below the Hillary Step,” said Bodhraj Bhandari of Nepal’s Snowy Horizon Treks and Expedition organising company. No other details were available. The Hillary Step is located in the

Philipp II Santiago, 45, from the Philippines, died on Wednesday at the South Col while he was on his way up, said Tourism Department official Himal Gautam. Santiago was tired when he reached the fourth highest camp and died while resting in his tent, he added. Santiago and Ghose were

Phra Thammachiranuwat from Wat Rai Khing of siphoning money from the temple’s bank account into his own. They traced funds from the temple on Bangkok’s western outskirts to an illegal online gambling network running baccarat card games, local media said.