Central Finance: New underground banks use virtual currencies for money laundering, luring ordinary people with "free credit card repayment" schemes.

BlockBeats news, September 10, CCTV Finance reported that a new type of money laundering scam using virtual currencies to transfer illegal funds has recently surfaced. Criminal gangs lure ordinary people with the bait of "free credit card repayment on behalf," recruit them by developing agents and pulling in new participants, and induce participants to provide credit card and identity information with rewards of a few dozen yuan. Some individuals even become part of the money laundering chain without knowing it.

Taking a case in Baotou as an example, since October 2023, the gang had connected with overseas online gambling, telecom and online fraud, and other upstream black and gray industries, "laundered" illicit funds through methods such as fictitious consumption, then contacted coin dealers to exchange them into virtual currencies, and finally transferred them to virtual currency addresses designated by the upstream, moving illegal funds overseas. The case involved nearly 1,000 accounts, with personnel scattered across Inner Mongolia, Shandong, Jiangsu, Hebei, Chongqing, and other regions.

Police and the Digital Currency Research Institute of the People's Bank of China conducted joint analysis through financial accounts and on-chain data, penetrated and discovered the complete criminal network, and carried out synchronized nationwide arrests. Seven people in the gang were sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of one year and two months to two years and six months for illegal business operations for engaging in illegal fund payment and settlement business without approval, and were also fined.

The central bank said that using virtual currencies for money laundering is a new type of money laundering crime that has emerged in recent years, and it continues to use large models and on-chain data analysis technology to track fund flows and identify black industry gangs. In recent years, relevant departments have destroyed more than 10 money laundering and running-score dens and confiscated about 130 million yuan in illegal gains.

Regulators remind that projects such as "free credit card repayment on behalf," "brushing transaction flow," and "running scores to earn commissions" may hide money laundering risks. Once ordinary people provide personal accounts or participate in illegal virtual currency transactions, they may also become "tool men" for criminal gangs.