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Revealing how cryptocurrency and casinos were used to obscure the ransom payments, blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis shared that it has helped Philippine authorities unravel the money laundering operation linked to the kidnapping and murder of Chinese Filipino businessman Anson Que.
How Chainalysis Helped PNP Trace the Ransom in Crypto
According to Chainalysis’ 2025 Crypto Crime Mid-Year Update, the company’s Global Services team worked alongside the Philippine National Police (PNP) using its “Reactor” tool to map out the flow of the ransom payments.
The report shared that investigators traced the crypto funds through a web of intermediary wallet addresses before identifying final destinations.
With support from the PNP, Chainalysis alerted $USDT issuer Tether and collaborated with the company to successfully freeze a portion of the ransom funds held in the said stablecoin.
Chainalysis noted that the laundering tactics used in the Que case lacked the sophistication seen in other major crypto crimes, pointing out that organized crime groups are turning to cryptocurrency for its speed and perceived anonymity, even without deep technical expertise.
“The tragic loss of Anson Que and Armanie Pabillo reminds us of the real human cost behind these crimes. But their case also demonstrates that the immutable nature of blockchain technology can serve as a powerful tool for justice—ensuring that those who exploit others cannot simply disappear into the digital shadows.”
Chainalysis
What is Chainalysis’ Reactor Tool?
Chainalysis’ Reactor is blockchain investigation software used by law enforcement and financial crime units to trace cryptocurrency transactions.
It allows investigators to follow the flow of crypto funds across multiple blockchains, revealing how digital assets are moved, swapped, or laundered, even through complex tools like mixers, decentralized exchanges, and cross-chain bridges.
Technically, the software visualizes transactions in real time through interactive graphs, helping identify wallet owners, linked addresses, and potential criminal networks. Reactor also uses advanced clustering algorithms and off-chain data, including open-source intelligence, to connect wallet activity to real-world entities.
In the Anson Que case, the PNP used Reactor to map the ransom trail, tracing funds from pesos and dollars into crypto, through intermediary addresses, and ultimately to Tether.
Crypto in Anson Que Case
In May, the PNP revealed that a ₱200 million ransom paid in the high-profile kidnap-murder of Chinese Filipino businessman Anson Que was funneled through a complex crypto laundering scheme involving unlicensed e-wallets and casino junket operators.
According to a press briefing, the ransom money was initially deposited with junket groups 9 Dynasty and White Horse, then converted into cryptocurrency using unregistered wallets not supervised by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) or reported to the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC). The funds moved through multiple virtual asset service providers (VASPs), prompting the PNP to subpoena two locally registered crypto exchanges, both of which cooperated and provided know-your-customer (KYC) data.
Aided by a foreign exchange and an international VASP, authorities successfully froze ₱4.5 million (around $79,800) worth of USDT linked to the ransom. In June, Binance’s Financial Intelligence Unit revealed that it assisted Philippine authorities in tracing $3.75 million in crypto ransom.
The PNP named five suspects in the case, alleged mastermind David Tan Liao, Wenli Gong a.k.a. Kelly Tan Lim, Ricardo Austria, Reymart Catequista, and Jonin Lin. The group allegedly abducted Que and his driver, Armanie Pabillo, in Bulacan and later killed them, with their bodies found in Rizal.
This article is published on BitPinas: Murder, Crypto, Casinos: How Chainalysis, PNP Follow ₱200M Trail in Anson Que Case
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