Key Takeaways:
- A Criminal Gang Suspected of Laundering More Than $5 Billion in Crypto Has Been Arrested by China’s Police.
- Police detained 93 people who were linked to the case.
Chinese police have effectively clamped down on a $5.5 billion instance of electronic money laundering by a well-known criminal organization.
The “9.15” large money laundering gang, which is charged and convicted of using cryptocurrencies to interact with money laundering of up to 40 billion yuan ($5.6 billion) and has been engaged in over 300 incidents of tele-trafficking, is one of the nine cases that were made public on September 26, according to crypto reporter Colin Wu, who referenced Weixin.
China has cracked down on both the cryptocurrency industry and the use of the currency for illegal activities. The country outlawed utilizing digital assets as currency, mining, and buying and selling cryptocurrencies.
An internet operation that targeted Hong Mau’s whole money-laundering network resulted in the arrest of over 93 individuals, the destruction of over ten money-laundering and concealing locations, and the seizure of over 100 mobile phones and computer-connected gadgets.
A total of 7.8 million yuan in monetary harm were retrieved from the victims, and 300 million yuan in money associated with the case was detained and confiscated.
Another local report claims that Chinese authorities also thwarted a money-laundering plan in Fujian where criminals used digital yuan to conceal 200 million yuan.
Due to the surge in cybercrime, the Chinese government has consistently opposed cryptocurrency transactions.
Several state-owned businesses in China continued to run Bitcoin mining rigs even after the country banned cryptocurrencies. China returned as the second-largest source of Bitcoin mining in May 2022.
Additionally, illegal remittances have grown in popularity as a rapid and secure way for Chinese businesses to move money. As a result, 93 people, including Hong Mau, have received legal punishments for their crimes, and the matter is still being looked into.
China has openly criticized cryptocurrency at times. Yifan He, CEO of Red Date Technology, accused Bitcoin of being a Ponzi scheme in an essay published in a local newspaper.
He claims that cryptocurrencies absorb funds by promising great returns, then utilize the funds of new investors to pay the interest of prior investors to create the illusion of profit, and then scam more funds.
