BlockBeats report, on September 10, China Central Television Finance reported that a new money laundering scheme involving the transfer of illicit funds through virtual currencies has come to light. Criminal groups lure ordinary individuals with the promise of "free credit card repayment," recruiting participants through agents and referrals, and offering small rewards of dozens of yuan to obtain their credit card and personal identification information. Some individuals have unknowingly become part of the money laundering chain.
Taking a case in Baotou as an example, this gang began coordinating with overseas online gambling and telecom fraud syndicates in October 2023, laundering illicit funds through fabricated transactions, then contacting cryptocurrency dealers to exchange them for digital assets, ultimately transferring the funds to virtual currency addresses designated by the upstream operators to move illegal proceeds overseas. The case involved nearly a thousand accounts, with individuals dispersed across multiple regions including Inner Mongolia, Shandong, Jiangsu, Hebei, and Chongqing.
The police, in collaboration with the Digital Currency Research Institute of the People’s Bank of China, jointly analyzed financial account and on-chain data to uncover the full criminal network and conducted a nationwide coordinated operation. Seven members of the involved gang were sentenced to prison terms of one year and two months to two years and six months, along with fines, for illegally engaging in fund payment and settlement activities without authorization.
The central bank stated that money laundering using virtual currencies is a newly emerged form of criminal activity in recent years, and authorities continue to track fund flows and identify illicit networks using large models and on-chain data analysis technologies. In recent years, relevant departments have dismantled more than ten money laundering and fund-splitting operations, seizing approximately RMB 130 million in illegal proceeds.
Regulators warn that programs such as "free credit card repayment," "fabricating transaction volumes," and "earning commissions through money splitting" may conceal money laundering risks. Ordinary individuals who provide their personal accounts or participate in illegal cryptocurrency transactions may inadvertently become tools of criminal organizations.