In the month of November 2022, the police in Qingdao, Shandong Province, made a crucial discovery. They noticed suspicious transactions taking place in several bank accounts belonging to individuals whose financial activities were not aligned with their social standing. These accounts exhibited an unusually high turnover, with daily transactions surpassing 30 million yuan (equivalent to more than $4 million).
The diligent employees at the Qingdao Public Security Bureau managed to establish a connection between these suspicious bank accounts and cryptocurrency transactions on a foreign virtual asset trading platform. Shockingly, a staggering sum of 158 billion yuan (approximately $25 billion) had flowed through these dubious accounts.
Armed with compelling evidence, the Qingdao police promptly moved forward with their operation, swiftly apprehending the account holders involved. Interestingly, some of these individuals turned out to be money droppers. The authorities seized both physical cash and virtual assets during their operations. This large-scale operation had ramifications across 17 provinces within China.
Adding to their recent successes, Chinese law enforcement agencies had also recently frozen and confiscated cryptocurrency for the first time as part of an ongoing investigation into a gambling case. This further demonstrates their determination to crack down on illegal activities that leverage virtual assets.