The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has frozen over $52 million in crypto assets in a single day. The law enforcement operation was directly targeted at Xinbi Guarantee, an intermediary entity described by US authorities as a criminal network operated out of China.
The process of tracking and freezing these tens of millions of dollars in assets involved support from the digital asset issuer. In an official statement on September 11, Tether outlined that the DOJ acknowledged the company’s “proactive assistance” throughout the operation against Xinbi. The cross-party collaboration highlights the role of stablecoin issuers in assisting law enforcement to uncover the financial flows of criminal syndicates.
Targeting Core Infrastructure
Federal authorities focused their operation away from pursuing individual scam schemes on the ground. Instead, law enforcement took a different tactical route by targeting the central payment rails supporting Xinbi’s marketplace operations.
Xinbi Guarantee has long operated as a dedicated service hub for a range of Chinese-language scam networks. The network positioned itself as a bridge connecting various fraud groups with money launderers, while also providing facilities for operators managing fake investment platforms.
The impact of Xinbi’s intermediary operations extended far beyond online financial crime. Law enforcement investigations found that the network was also relied upon to facilitate recruiters suspected of ties to human trafficking practices.
To cut off the flow of funds to the criminal hub, the DOJ deployed law enforcement to seize two primary crypto wallets. Both digital addresses were targeted for allegedly being frequently used by Xinbi to receive roughly $12 million in service payment flows.
Approaching the One-Billion-Dollar Mark
Law enforcement’s pursuit of problematic wallets expanded well beyond the initial two addresses. Asset freezing requests broadened the scope to include an additional 47 crypto wallets implicated in alleged downstream money laundering practices.
The single-day freeze of more than $52 million in crypto adds to the track record of the US government task force. With the inclusion of the Xinbi asset seizures, the cumulative law enforcement total recorded by the Scam Center Strike Force has now risen to reach $938 million.
Blocking Xinbi’s central payment rails underscores law enforcement’s strategy to choke off syndicates’ funding lifelines rather than chasing down scam operations individually. Sourced from crypto.news.
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
