Police in Inner Mongolia investigate cryptocurrency money-laundering case; 7 group members sentenced

AT A GLANCE

Baotou police investigated a case involving the collection of accounts under the pretext of “free credit-card repayment” and the use of cryptocurrency to transfer illicit proceeds.

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【Police in Inner Mongolia, China investigate cryptocurrency money-laundering case using free credit-card repayment as bait; nearly accounts involved】

Recently, police in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, China investigated a cryptocurrency money-laundering case. The criminal group attracted ordinary users to provide their accounts by offering free credit-card repayments, used fictitious purchases to receive proceeds from overseas gambling, telecommunications fraud, and other crimes, then contacted cryptocurrency traders to convert the funds into cryptocurrency and transfer them to designated overseas addresses. Through analysis of financial and on-chain data, police identified nearly accounts involved in the case, with people involved located in Inner Mongolia, Shandong, Jiangsu, Hebei, Chongqing, and other regions. The People’s Bank of China Digital Currency Research Institute stated that it is currently using large-model technology to analyze the flow of funds from cryptocurrency transactions, reconstruct the group’s transaction patterns, and uncover leads involving illicit industries. Investigation confirmed that members of the group involved in the case 7 individuals illegally engaged in payment and settlement of funds without approval from the relevant competent state authorities, constituting the crime of illegal business operations, and were sentenced to imprisonment of 1 years 2 months to 2 years 6 months, and fined. Money laundering through cryptocurrency is a new type of money-laundering crime that has emerged in recent years. Lü Wei, president of the Inner Mongolia Branch of the People’s Bank of China, said that improving the monitoring and identification of abnormal fund transactions related to cryptocurrency trading helped successfully crack a major money-laundering case involving cryptocurrency-based pyramid schemes and dismantle 10 or more money-laundering and illicit fund-transfer sites, recovering approximately 130000000 yuan in illegal proceeds in total. In recent years, efforts have been coordinated to promote the conviction and sentencing for money laundering in 4 cases involving the use of cryptocurrency to launder money, creating a strong deterrent against money laundering through cryptocurrency and other illegal and criminal activities.

Key points

The original text states that the criminal group attracted ordinary users to provide their accounts by offering free credit-card repayments.
The original text states that the group used fictitious purchases to receive proceeds from overseas gambling, telecommunications fraud, and other crimes, then contacted cryptocurrency traders to convert the funds into cryptocurrency and transfer them to designated overseas addresses.
The original text states that police identified nearly accounts involved in the case through analysis of financial and on-chain data.
The original text states that people involved in the case were located in Inner Mongolia, Shandong, Jiangsu, Hebei, Chongqing, and other regions.
The original text states that 7 group members illegally engaged in payment and settlement of funds without approval, constituting the crime of illegal business operations, and were sentenced to imprisonment of 1 years 2 months to 2 years 6 months, and fined.
The original text states that the People’s Bank of China Digital Currency Research Institute is using large-model technology to analyze the flow of funds from cryptocurrency transactions, reconstruct the group’s transaction patterns, and uncover leads involving illicit industries.
Lü Wei stated that related efforts helped crack a major money-laundering case involving a cryptocurrency-based pyramid scheme and dismantle 10 or more sites, recovering approximately 130000000 yuan in illegal proceeds in total; in recent years, efforts have promoted the conviction and sentencing for money laundering in 4 related cases.

AI-assisted interpretation

The following is analysis, separate from reported facts. Verify important claims independently.

This method first attracts users to hand over their accounts by offering to “repay their credit-card balances for free,” then uses fictitious purchases to have the accounts receive illicit proceeds, after which the funds are converted into cryptocurrency and transferred to designated addresses. For ordinary users, even merely providing an account may involve their own account in the circulation of illicit funds.

Why it matters to readers

The materials indicate that police combine traditional financial records with on-chain data to track related transactions; providing a credit-card or other account for use by strangers may create risks of account freezing, investigation, and legal liability.

Do not provide your credit card, bank card, or payment collection/disbursement account to others in exchange for promises such as “free repayment advances” or “transaction boosting,” and do not collect or transfer funds or virtual currency from unknown sources.

Risks and unknowns

The material comes from a Telegram news brief and is not accompanied by a police notice, court judgment, or original document from a relevant authority; the case details cannot yet be independently verified.
The original text does not specify the court’s name, the date of the judgment, or the specific sentences imposed on the individuals involved.
The original text does not specify the legal liability or outcomes for ordinary users among the nearly accounts involved in the case.

Police in Inner Mongolia investigate cryptocurrency money-laundering case; 7 group members sentenced

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