Criminal groups in Southeast Asia are using Telegram as a “key venue” to connect and conduct business, a new UNODC report revealed.

Powerful criminal networks in Southeast Asia extensively use the messaging app Telegram which has enabled a fundamental change in the way organised crime can conduct large-scale illicit activity, the United Nations said in a report on Monday.

Telegram has become a hotbed for Southeast Asian criminal networks, facilitating the sale of hacked data, malware distribution, and unregulated cryptocurrency exchanges, according to a UN report exposing

The findings are the latest in a series of accusations implicating Telegram, whose CEO was recently arrested in France for allegedly allowing criminal activity to flourish on the platform. After the arrest — which led Telegram to agree to share some user data with law enforcement — several extremist groups moved to a new platform,

Criminal networks in Southeast Asia are using Telegram for large-scale illicit activities, says a UN report. The app allows trading of hacked data and tools for cybercrime. Telegram's boss was charged in France for this.