Onchain evidence played a decisive role in securing terrorism financing convictions against three individuals in Indonesia during 2024 and 2025, signaling a notable shift in how courts assess blockchain-based proof. Blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs stated that Indonesian courts have shown cryptocurrency evidence — including wallet addresses, transaction histories, and onchain flows — is not only admissible but can serve as the foundation of a terrorism financing prosecution. The cases mark a significant development in the use of digital asset data within the judicial system.
In one of the cases, Indonesian authorities traced a defendant sending more than $49,000 worth of USDT across 15 separate transactions from a local exchange to a foreign platform. Those funds were subsequently routed to an ISIS-linked fundraising campaign operating in Syria. The transaction trail provided prosecutors with a clear financial link between the defendant and a designated terrorist organization.
The analysis was conducted by Indonesia’s financial intelligence team alongside its counterterrorism police unit, Densus 88. Their findings were presented to Indonesian courts, which accepted the blockchain data as key evidence across all three cases. TRM noted that terrorism financing networks have increasingly favored cryptocurrency to move funds, partly because authorities and regulators have historically applied less scrutiny to digital assets than to traditional financial channels.
TRM added, however, that this dynamic is now changing as enforcement agencies develop greater technical capacity. The firm highlighted that Singapore and Malaysia‘s financial intelligence units and law enforcement agencies are also building the capability to trace cryptocurrency flows. Indonesia’s cases are therefore part of a broader regional trend in Southeast Asia toward using blockchain analytics as a law enforcement tool.
Separately, on April 1, Cambodian and Chinese officials captured Li Xiong, identified as a leader of the Huione Group, an organization linked to scam centers in Cambodia. The group was involved in so-called pig butchering frauds and other investment schemes used to steal cryptocurrency from victims around the world. Xiong was subsequently extradited to China, where he faces fraud and money-laundering charges.
His extradition followed the earlier arrest of Chen Zhi, the head of Prince Group, which operates Huione Group, approximately three months prior. The back-to-back arrests represent a significant blow to one of the region’s most prominent illicit crypto networks. The cases underscore growing international cooperation in pursuing cryptocurrency-related financial crime.
TRM reported in February that illicit entities received approximately $141 billion worth of stablecoins in 2025, representing a five-year high. The figure illustrates the scale of criminal activity still flowing through digital asset markets despite increased enforcement efforts. Analysts and regulators are expected to face continued pressure to expand monitoring and investigative frameworks in response.
Originally reported by CoinTelegraph.
