Singaporean man pleads guilty in US to massive crypto heist

A Singaporean man pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a racketeering conspiracy charge in the US for organising one of the biggest ever cryptocurrency thefts.

Malone Lam admitted to teaming up with friends to steal $245m (£181m) of bitcoin and laundering the proceeds.

The 22-year-old and his associates used the money to spend up to $500,000 per evening at nightclubs, according to the US Department of Justice (DOJ). It also said they bought a fleet of exotic cars, ranging in value from $100,000 to $3.8m.

Lam faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years. US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly did not immediately schedule a sentencing hearing for him.

"If you build a cybercrime empire, we will find you, dismantle your operation, and hold you accountable," said US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said.

"This defendant led an international network that preyed on victims through deception, invaded their privacy, and stole hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency," she added.

Lam told investigators in the US that he had dropped out of secondary school in Singapore when he was 14. He travelled to the US in October 2023 and remained there after his visa expired in January the next year.

According to court documents, the conspiracy began no later than October 2023 and continued to at least May 2025.