coindesk.com
The U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned online marketplace Xinbi Guarantee, which U.S. authorities accused of being extensively used by Chinese cybercriminals to operate crypto-infused scams and illicit finance, according to a Wednesday statement.
The alleged transnational criminal organization helped scam centers purchase necessary items and aided in financial activity tied to criminal operations, according to the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which said the transactions totalled as much as $24 billion since the Chinese-language platform began in 2022, much of which was associated with cryptocurrency. The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office had also sanctioned Xinbi in March.
“Scam centers in Southeast Asia steal billions of dollars from American victims each year,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a statement. He said his department will "continue using its tools to disrupt the networks behind this egregious fraud and protect Americans.”
Xinbi is said to have supported money laundering networks and been used by North Korean hackers. It was also tied to Prince Group, which was the target of similar Treasury actions.
As law enforcement groups and technology providers focused on Xinbi, it's said to have started moving its merchant and money-laundering activity last year to an encrypted messaging application developed by Singapore-based SafeW Technology. It also established a XinbiPay wallet application developed by Cambodia-based Anwen Technology, so Wednesday's Treasury actions extended to SafeW and Anwen.
Treasury, which said it worked alongside the Department of Justice’s recently established Scam Center Strike Force, had previously gone after Prince and Huione Group. The sanctions are meant to cut off all financial activity with U.S. people or businesses, which has the effect of walling off an entity from much of the global financial system.
Read More: Sanctioned Cambodian Lender Huione, Linked to Illicit Crypto, Halts Business After Bank Run: Report