Worker's Daily: Abnormal trading of virtual money may be suspected of criminal activity

On August 21, the Beijing Second Intermediate People's Court recently heard a case involving the concealment and hiding of criminal proceeds through virtual currency transactions. The defendant, knowing that the funds were criminal proceeds, still assisted in the transfer and was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in prison. In August 2024, Liu, aware that the cash held by He was criminal proceeds, sold USDT(, commonly known as U coin), to He for 200,000 yuan in cash, and the whereabouts of the funds involved in the case are now untraceable. Investigation revealed that the 200,000 yuan transferred by Liu was money defrauded from others. The court's effective ruling stated that Liu, knowing it was criminal proceeds, still assisted in the transfer, constituting the crime of concealing and hiding criminal proceeds. The court sentenced Liu to 3 years and 6 months in prison for the crime of concealing and hiding criminal proceeds, imposed a fine of 40,000 yuan, and confiscated his illegal gains. The judge stated that defendants in cases of concealing and hiding criminal proceeds typically have a profit-driven mentality and harbor a sense of luck. Many defendants succumb to the temptation of short-term high returns and commit crimes. Despite the increasing efforts in legal publicity against telecom network fraud, most defendants have some awareness that the assets involved may be fraudulently obtained, yet some still fantasize that their concealing and hiding actions are difficult to detect, or that the consequences, even if discovered, are not serious, thus testing the law. The judge warned to be vigilant against any requests for "abnormal transactions" under the guise of virtual currency, and not to be tempted by so-called "transaction fees" or "price differences" for petty gains, or to easily trust others' promises, and participate in the buying, selling, and transferring of virtual currencies or funds with unclear sources. Assisting in the conversion, transfer, or cashing out of funds known to be criminal proceeds may violate criminal law and constitute the crime of concealing and hiding criminal proceeds, leading to severe criminal penalties. (Workers' Daily)