CCTV News Client |Author: Dong Bin, Shao Chen.
Although the "virtual currency" stored in the "digital wallet" cannot be seen or touched, it has attracted a lot of attention and once became a hot spot of "hype". Is there really a so-called "value" in virtual currency?Or is there some other hidden secret?
A few days ago, in Qingdao, Shandong, the Hui Police jointly cracked a case involving an amount of up to 15.8 billion yuan, involving 17 provinces and municipalities directly under the central government, which brought the "alternative use" of virtual currency to the surface.
drift" of bank cards.
In November 2022, Qingdao ** found that more than 1,000 accounts in the accounts of Jin and others were extremely abnormal, with an average daily turnover of more than 3 million yuan, and a total transaction amount of more than 2 billion yuan.
Yang Yi, a case officer of the Economic Investigation Detachment of the Qingdao Municipal Public Security Bureau in Shandong Province: These accounts are all operated through online banking or mobile banking, and the network operation address is displayed overseas, but the account holders of these accounts have not left the border.
"Similar" background and "suspicious" records of money transactions.
Who is sending money to Jin?Through an in-depth investigation of suspicious accounts, it was found that most of the people who remitted money to Jin's controlled account had the experience of studying abroad or entering and leaving the country for many short-term periods. In addition, his relevant accounts also showed that there were records of fund transactions with other suspected underground banks in China.
Yang Yi, a case-handling officer of the Economic Investigation Detachment of the Qingdao Municipal Public Security Bureau in Shandong Province: We have determined that Jin is suspected of using the bank account under his control to provide illegal exchange services, and also has transactions with other underground banks in China, and is suspected of illegal business operations.
Only in but not out".
Where did the money related to Jin go?The case-handling personnel of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange and the public security organs jointly retrieved more than 20 million suspicious bank transaction records related to Jin, and found that the amount of capital transactions exceeded 10 billion yuan, but the account situation was extremely abnormal.
Liu Cuili, Deputy Director of the Balance of Payments Division of the Qingdao Branch of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange: We comprehensively used a variety of analysis tools to compare the data of the bank account flows, and found that a large amount of Jin's funds were transferred to multiple bank accounts controlled by Li in China, and the funds only went in and out, which attracted our attention.
The ordinary textile workers in the county and her bank flow of more than 5 billion yuan.
Who is Li?Why is the money "only in but not out"?A criminal gang that illegally buys and sells virtual currencies surfaces.
Director of the Political Department of the Economic Investigation Detachment of the Qingdao Municipal Public Security Bureau ** Li is an ordinary employee of a county-level urban textile enterprise, but the capital flow of the third-party bank card associated with and controlled by her name is as high as more than 5 billion yuan, which is obviously inconsistent with her identity. To this end, we conducted a review around her counterparty and found that Li's other identity was actually an acceptor specializing in the illegal purchase and sale of virtual currency. Through an overseas virtual currency trading platform, Li helped Jin exchange a large amount of funds into virtual currencies such as Tether.
Ostensibly "moving" virtual currency.
In fact, it is illegal to buy and sell foreign exchange.
Why is this process of "moving" virtual currency an illegal act of illegal foreign exchange trading?
Xu Xiao, inspector of the Qingdao Branch of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange: After the underground bank collects RMB from the "customer", it goes to buy virtual currency, and then sells the virtual currency through overseas trading platforms to obtain the foreign currency funds they need, and this process realizes the conversion of RMB and foreign currency, which constitutes an illegal act of illegal trading of foreign exchange.
Carrying out virtual currency-related business activities in China is an illegal financial activity.
After grasping the conclusive evidence, the case-handling personnel carried out the operation of closing the net. Qingdao public security seized the equivalent of about 2 million yuan worth of Tether, Litecoin and other virtual currencies involved in the case at the scene. At present, the case has been transferred to the procuratorate for review and prosecution.
According to the regulations of our country, in China, virtual currency does not have the same legal status as legal tender;Carrying out business activities related to virtual currencies is an illegal financial activity. At the same time, in China, the purchase and sale of foreign exchange must be carried out in a place designated by the state, otherwise it is an illegal purchase and sale of foreign exchange, and if the circumstances are serious, criminal responsibility will also be investigated.
Zhang Zhaohui, Deputy Director of the Qingdao Branch of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange: If you need foreign exchange and settlement, remember to go to a legal institution that has the qualifications for foreign exchange settlement and sales business and has been approved.
Huang Hui, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Management and Inspection of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange: In the next step, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange will continue to work closely with the public security organs, the People's Bank of China and other departments to crack down on illegal crimes such as underground banks, promote the improvement of foreign exchange service levels, and facilitate enterprises and individuals to handle foreign exchange business through legal channels.