That they can pay people remotely ignoring employment laws in a way that can be tracked and prosecuted?

I'm not sure why there's some assumption that anything illegal is going on.

You stated that you are directly paying these employees without the facilitator who was previously paying the payroll taxes on your behalf.

You should perhaps read the comment again? The comment mentions two disjoint sets of people who are presently paid in different ways. It does not mention any transition of any people between the sets.

The second set of people must also be paid according to the laws of the country they are currently residing in. By paying them without informing the country, you are skirting its laws and doing so in a way that is easily tracked.

I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that I have discovered that it is in fact legal to pay contractors in these countries. The bad news is that I also recently paid a local moving company for a move and purchased some onigiri at a convenience store without personally verifying that these businesses and their employees pay their taxes. Feel free to report me to the kōban.

If you paid with real money that went into a real bank account, the government knows if they paid their taxes. If you paid them with crypto because they shadily asked you to, don't be surprised if you get caught up in an investigation. Your payments are easily tracked.

I paid cash :(