Shanghai, China, Exposes $6.5 Billion Illegal Foreign Exchange Case Involving Stablecoin

BlockBeats News, July 20th. The People's Court of Pudong New Area, Shanghai, China, announced a major case involving illegal foreign exchange transactions totaling 6.5 billion RMB using a stablecoin as a medium. The case revealed that Yang and Xu, among others, used domestic shell companies' accounts to provide stablecoins (USDT as the transaction medium) to overseas accounts of unspecified clients, facilitating cross-border fund transfers to generate profits. Over the past three years, the suspects have been involved in illegal foreign exchange transactions totaling 6.5 billion RMB. Yang, based overseas, was responsible for attracting clients and managing foreign exchange funds, while Xu, based domestically, managed the corporate accounts of 17 shell companies, with daily fund flows exceeding tens of millions RMB, demonstrating clear division of labor and close cooperation.

The disclosed details of the case indicate that by the end of 2023, Shanghai resident Ms. Chen needed to remit money to her daughter overseas. Due to foreign exchange restrictions, she eventually contacted an overseas "exchange company" (the aforementioned domestic shell company A controlled by Yang and others). Following instructions, Ms. Chen transferred RMB into Company A's account. Subsequently, her daughter's overseas account received an equivalent amount of foreign exchange, with the "exchange company" deducting a certain percentage as a fee. For a long time, this criminal group has operated overseas under the guise of "third-party collection and payment," providing illegal exchange services through cross-border matching transactions.