Reported by Yihui Xie

Jewelry stores across China have been receiving mysterious, unusually large orders for gold bars from customers who ask for the precious metal to be posted to faraway addresses in the nation.

In one case, an online romance scammer convinced a woman in the eastern city of Hangzhou to buy 19 million yuan ($2.6 million) worth of gold bars as part of an investment plan. She never saw the gold, her money or her so-called love interest again.

Over in the northwestern Shaanxi province, another woman was scammed out of 38,000 yuan by an online account impersonating her relative. Five minutes after she transferred the funds, a money laundering syndicate used it to buy gold.

The scams are among those highlighted this year by police and security bureaus who have sent out announcement after announcement warning the public that fraudsters are increasingly using gold to transfer assets and launder money. 

Read full report: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-12-11/china-s-lust-for-gold-exploited-by-scammers-money-launderers