Police in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, have investigated a cryptocurrency money laundering case involving a criminal group that allegedly used 「free credit card repayment advances」 as bait to persuade ordinary users to provide their accounts. The group then received illicit proceeds from overseas gambling and telecom fraud through sham consumption transactions, contacted coin dealers to convert the funds into cryptocurrency, and sent the assets to designated offshore addresses.
Nearly 1,000 accounts identified through fund-flow and on-chain analysis
According to ChainCatcher, police identified nearly 1,000 accounts tied to the case through analysis of capital flows and on-chain data. People involved in the case were spread across Inner Mongolia, Shandong, Jiangsu, Hebei, and Chongqing.
Seven members sentenced for illegal business operations
Authorities found that seven members of the group had engaged in payment and settlement services without approval from the relevant state authorities. The conduct constituted the crime of illegal business operations. The seven were sentenced to prison terms ranging from one year and two months to two years and six months, and were also fined.
PBOC units outline enforcement and monitoring efforts
The Digital Currency Research Institute of the People’s Bank of China said it is currently using large-model technology to analyze fund flows in cryptocurrency transactions, reconstruct transaction patterns used by criminal groups, and dig for leads tied to illicit industries.
Lv Wei, governor of the Inner Mongolia branch of the People’s Bank of China, said stronger monitoring and identification of abnormal fund transactions related to cryptocurrency trading helped authorities crack a major pyramid-scheme money laundering case involving cryptocurrency, dismantle more than 10 money laundering and cash-out dens, and seize about 130 million yuan in illegal gains. In recent years, authorities have also pushed forward convictions and sentencing in four cryptocurrency-related money laundering cases under the crime of money laundering, forming what he described as a strong deterrent against crimes involving cryptocurrency money laundering.