New Trends in Money Laundering Crimes Involving Encryption Assets and Regulatory Changes

In recent years, with the rapid expansion of the cryptocurrency asset market and criminals' deeper understanding of regulatory rules in various countries, the methods of using cryptocurrency assets for Money Laundering have continually evolved. These new methods include the combination of fiat currency and cryptocurrency assets for Money Laundering, as well as more covert ways of mismatching cryptocurrency assets with physical assets. This not only impacts the financial order of various countries but also leads to potential risks such as foreign exchange losses and a surge in cybercrime.

A Typical Case of "Case within a Case" Involving Encryption Assets

Recently, a case involving the Money Laundering of 2 billion yuan using encrypted assets and the sale of personal information of Chinese citizens to foreign institutions has been exposed. The Beijing police, in conjunction with the Beijing branch of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, have cracked this huge Money Laundering case involving the infringement of citizens' personal information. The case involves 15 provinces and cities in China, with criminal methods that are extremely concealed and diversified.

Illegal trafficking of personal information of citizens

In the case, the criminal suspects used overseas instant messaging tools to form multiple social groups, selling a large amount of personal information of Chinese citizens within the groups, including sensitive data such as ID numbers, phone numbers, and home addresses. According to statistics, the cumulative sale of personal information has reached over 100 million entries. Investigations show that this information mainly flows overseas and may be used for targeted fraud, inducing online gambling, and other criminal activities. Furthermore, this large amount of personal information may also be used by foreign institutions to analyze China's economic and social development status, and could even pose a threat to national security.

using cryptocurrency for Money Laundering

During the investigation, law enforcement agencies discovered a professional Money Laundering gang involving encrypted assets. The funding flow of this gang has the following characteristics:

1. The source of funds is complex, involving multiple encryption asset transactions;
2. Frequent trading, short duration of funds remaining in the account;
3. The transaction amounts are whole numbers, and multiple transaction records show similar incoming and outgoing amounts.

According to the investigation, the money laundering gang laundered approximately 2 billion yuan within a year, earning over 2 million yuan.

New Trends in Cryptocurrency Crime and Regulatory Changes

Crime Trend Changes

According to official data, the number of financial crime cases in 2023 has decreased, but remains at a high level. Crimes in the field of encrypted assets show a trend of decreasing case numbers but a sharp increase in the amounts involved, mainly concentrated in Money Laundering and illegal foreign exchange trading.

Regulatory focus shifts to

With the rapid development of the encryption asset market, regulatory agencies have gradually shifted their focus to Money Laundering and foreign exchange control. Currently, economic and financial crimes involving large-scale cross-border fund settlements have become key targets for crackdown, mainly including Money Laundering, gambling, illegal foreign exchange trading, and telecom fraud.

Changes in Personal Trading Attitude

From the handling of recent cases, regulatory agencies have shown an increased tolerance towards individual "cryptocurrency trading" behaviors. Law enforcement agencies have noted that a large amount of encryption assets originates from domestic citizens during their investigations, but no further action has been taken against ordinary traders. This indicates that the current regulatory focus is not on individuals holding and trading encryption assets.

Conclusion

Globally, combating large-scale encryption asset Money Laundering and related crimes has become a major trend. Although encryption assets facilitate cross-border capital flows, with advancements in on-chain data analysis technology, the "anonymity" of encryption assets has significantly diminished. For illegal activities, the investigative and evidence-gathering capabilities of law enforcement agencies are continuously improving, and related criminal behaviors will eventually be exposed.