Reported by: Pandaily

Authorities in China’s Hunan province have recently busted a criminal group that used cryptocurrency to launder 40 billion yuan ($5.6 billion). The trade of digital currencies was banned in the country last September.

Police in Hengyang, a county in China’s southern province of Hunan alleged that the criminal group had been buying cryptocurrencies with illicit funds since 2018, which were then traded for US dollars at a profit. The dirty money reportedly originated from telecom scams or gambling.

Police have arrested 93 related suspects across the country, frozen about 300 million yuan involved in the case, and recovered financial losses of 7.8 million yuan for the victim. The case is still undergoing further developments.

According to Chinese media outlet Blue Whale Finance, a large number of Binance accounts that were frozen in August are connected to the recent Hunan case. Binance declined to comment on the legal matter, saying that it cooperates with regulators and law enforcement around the world to protect the ecosystem and the safety of all users. Law enforcement authorities in most jurisdictions will require direct contact with the user if the account is in violation of the law, it continued. Binance also said it will continue to improve its law enforcement support system and deal with the matter in accordance with the judicial process.

Read full report: https://pandaily.com/chinese-authorities-crack-down-on-5-6b-crypto-related-money-laundering/