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Police in China have announced the dismantling of a large underground banking gang accused of facilitating illegal transactions with almost $2 billion worth of tether (USDT). Sichuan and Chongqing authorities said on Tuesday that 193 suspects across 26 Chinese provinces have been arrested as a result of the operation.  According to local media, the gang allegedly used USDT to evade China ’s foreign exchange regulations and provide a means for criminals to send their funds overseas, transacting 13.8 billion yuan ($1.9 billion ). Tether’s history with China goes far beyond commercial paper Read more: How Triad-linked gang used crypto and casinos to launder $10B Two ‘dens’ in Fujian and Hunan belonging to the gang were reportedly destroyed by authorities in 2023 and 149 million yuan ($20.6 million) of funds linked to the gang were frozen as part of the case.  The gang’s illegal foreign exchange reportedly committed “financial fraud, job-related Crime s, o...

A Hong Kong man accused of playing a role in the unfolding JPEX crypto scandal has apparently been caught destroying potential evidence using paper shredders and a bathtub full of bleach. As reported by the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the man, known only as ‘Tang,’ was arrested along with three other suspects who authorities say are “relatively close to the core” of the troubled Dubai-based Crypto platform. The arrests bring the total number of people apprehended in connection with JPEX to 19 with police reportedly still tracking a number of people accused of money laundering and fraud.  JPEX was accused this month by Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission of having “suspicious features” while also operating without a license . Access to JPEX for residents in Hong Kong was blocked last week and more than 2,400 complaints have been made to the police regarding the company. Alongside the arrests, police also seized cash and valuables worth HK$6....

Belgian authorities have accused a London fintech business owner of using Binance to help launder hundreds of million s of euros into bitcoin for the benefit of criminals, including a Belgian drug lord known as the “finger cutter ” and a Brazilian drug kingpin equivalent to Pablo Escobar. As reported by Bloomberg, Belgian authorities are seeking to extradite 38-year-old Caio Marchesani from the UK. Marchesani “knowingly and intentionally” laundered the funds of international drug traffickers into bitcoin, authorities say. Two of Marchesani’s alleged clients were Flor Bressers and Sergio Roberto De Carvalho.  Bressers, a.k.a. the “finger cutter ,” was a notorious drug lord who used pruning sheers to slice off a criminal’s fingers whilst also kidnapping and beating up a Dutch florist who failed to transport his drugs. Marchesani is accused of managing 14 Binance accounts on Bressers’ behalf before he was arrested in February 2022. A Binance spokesperson said the crypto exchange ha...

Recent murders have cast a dark shadow over the crypto world. Investigations may reveal the unsettling link between sudden wealth and these violent incidents. Recently, the crypto universe has grappled with events with an ominous undertone. A realm once solely occupied by discussions of blockchain technology and financial prospects now finds itself in the headlines for a darker reason: a string of murder s that send chills down the community’s spine. Let’s venture into this investigative journey and try to shed light on these mysterious events. The tragic end of Fernando Pérez Algaba The tranquil riverside near Buenos Aires turned into a ghastly crime scene on a July afternoon.  A horrifying discovery by a group of children who stumbled upon a suitcase revealed the final chapter in the life of crypto millionaire and influencer Fernando Pérez Algaba. What lay inside the suitcase was nothing short of a brutal end to a life that glittered with opulence yet whispered of hidden...

The US Attorney’s Office has filed a civil forfeit ure action to recover crypto proceeds of a b US iness email compromise (BEC) fraud scheme that targeted a company in Massach US etts, according to a press release on Tuesday evening. The government is looking to forfeit crypto seized from seven accounts held at crypto exchange Binance, which contain bitcoin, tether, shiba inu, Binance coin, and more. The BEC fraud in question came to the attention of investigators in March 2022, when a fraudulent email tricked the Massachusetts company into wiring almost $900,000 to a bank account in California. That money went through another bank account and was then converted to bitcoin on a crypto exchange — then, transferred through a series of other crypto addresses “in a manner consistent with tactics employed in money laundering transactions,” the release said. Eventually, a portion of the funds ended up on Binance. They were seized by authorities in August and September 2022. Read mor...