China Police Seize Gang Members in Operation, Convert $1.7B Worth of Cryptocurrency

Gang members were apprehended and detained by Chinese police for allegedly trying to launder up to $1.7 billion (12 billion Chinese yuan) in bitcoin. Despite Beijing's harsh crackdown on cryptocurrency trading in the nation back in 2021, the gang's operations continued, and police have now finally apprehended the gang. Authorities asserted that these gang members' primary source of income came from illicit operations, which they attempted to conceal by using cryptocurrencies. In a statement, the Public Security Bureau of Tongliao City in Inner Mongolia reported that it had arrested 63 gang members who were using bitcoin to launder money from their unlawful activities. The group began its money laundering operations, according to the authorities, and was able to convert 12 billion Chinese yuan into $1.7 billion worth of Tether cryptocurrency. It is well known that Tether, also known as the USDT, and the cryptocurrency coin have a 1:1 exchange rate in US dollars. The gang has been using this as a significant method of money transfer and movement since May 2021. [caption id="attachment_67213" align="aligncenter" width="670"] Image: Arab News[/caption] According to reports, the group used illegal means, such as pyramid schemes, fraud, and gambling, to generate this enormous sum. The gang members made an effort to withdraw their money from the internet platform and deposit it into other cryptocurrency accounts in order to convert it back to Chinese yuan. Trading cryptocurrencies is still a serious offence in China, and the government has strict laws against crypto mining and trading. China has a broad cryptocurrency ban in place and opposes the new digital currencies that other nations are attempting to accept and integrate into their economies. Early in 2021, there were reports of a large number of Chinese nationals attempting to travel to Texas in order to continue their livelihoods in the more accepting state of cryptocurrencies. Given that China hosts one of the world's largest operations for cryptocurrency mining, the widespread prohibition on cryptocurrencies in China has a substantial impact on a large portion of the country's workforce.