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Chinese Authorities Arrest 93 for Crypto-Related Money Laundering

The suspects laundered as much as RMB 40 billion, according to Hengyang county police.

Updated May 11, 2023, 5:11 p.m. Published Sep 26, 2022, 1:31 p.m.

Changsha, the capital of Hunan. (YunFengQ/Unsplash, edited by CoinDesk)

Authorities in China's Hunan province arrested 93 people for allegedly laundering up to RMB 40 billion ($5.6 billion) using cryptocurrencies, as the country continues to crack down on crime that includes digital assets.

China has not only cracked down on the use of crypto for illegal activities, but also on the industry itself. The country banned crypto trading, mining, as well as the use of digital assets for payments.

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Since 2018, led by an individual surnamed Hong, the suspects had been laundering funds gained from fraud and gambling across the country, according to a Sunday post on the official WeChat account of the Hengyang county police department, which made the arrest. They were using crypto to convert the funds to U.S. dollars, the post said.

Police seized more than 100 mobile phones and computers, RMB 300 million ($41.9 million) of funds and other losses for the victims, the post said.

China Money Laundering Crime Arrest

Eliza Gkritsi

Eliza Gkritsi is a CoinDesk contributor focused on the intersection of crypto and AI, having previously covered mining for two years. She previously worked at TechNode in Shanghai and has graduated from the London School of Economics, Fudan University, and the University of York. She owns 25 WLD. She tweets as @egreechee.