TL;DR
- US authorities restrained more than $52 million tied to Xinbi Guarantee on September 9, with the Justice Department’s Scam Center Strike Force seizing Telegram channels and two wallets while targeting 47 more.
- Treasury sanctioned Xinbi and two supporting firms, SafeW Technology and Anwen Technology, and says the marketplace processed more than $24 billion since around 2022.
- The Justice Department has given no timetable for victim distributions, and Xinbi has already moved funds into a stablecoin with no freeze mechanism, signaling the marketplace is adapting around the restraint.
US authorities restrained more than $52 million in cryptocurrency tied to Xinbi Guarantee on September 9, targeting a marketplace accused of laundering proceeds for scam operations worldwide. Treasury and the Justice Department carried out the coordinated action, which freezes the targeted funds while the legal process continues.
WHAT IS XINBI
Xinbi is a Chinese-language marketplace that has operated through Telegram since around 2022, drawing more than 650,000 users. Treasury said the platform connected scam-center operators with vendors selling money-laundering services, technology and other tools. Vendors advertised their services and posted their own cryptocurrency payment addresses directly in Xinbi’s Telegram channels, turning the channels themselves into a storefront.
The marketplace ran on an escrow system. Xinbi held payments until vendors completed the purchased services, giving buyers and sellers a reason to trust each other despite operating a criminal marketplace.
Treasury said Xinbi processed the equivalent of more than $24 billion in cryptocurrency and conventional currency since around 2022.
THE ENFORCEMENT ACTION
Treasury designated Xinbi as a significant transnational criminal organization, and it sanctioned two companies that supported the marketplace. SafeW Technology built a messaging app in Singapore. Anwen Technology, based in Cambodia, developed a crypto wallet known as XinbiPay or NewPay.
The Justice Department’s Scam Center Strike Force, a multi-agency unit formed this year to target scam-center infrastructure, carried out the seizure alongside Treasury. A federal court authorized the Strike Force’s seizure of Xinbi’s Telegram channels on September 7. The department announced that seizure alongside the wider financial action two days later.
The Strike Force seized two cryptocurrency wallets holding about $12 million combined. Investigators targeted 47 more wallets they believe are connected to laundering on Xinbi’s network or to vendors serving scammers. Investigators said they traced funds belonging to US victims to specific vendors that advertised money-laundering services in Xinbi’s Telegram channels. Those measures brought the total restrained to more than $52 million, the department said.
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TRACING AND FREEZE DETAIL
Elliptic, a blockchain analytics firm, said it helped the US Secret Service trace the assets and put the total at $52.8 million.
The Justice Department thanked Tether for assisting the investigation. Blockchain investigators separately reported a freeze of about $39.3 million in USDT across ten addresses on Tron, a blockchain network where USDT commonly circulates.
USDT is a dollar-linked stablecoin, and its issuer can block specified addresses from moving the tokens they hold. That feature lets Tether act when law enforcement identifies wallets connected to sanctions or suspected crime.
The $39.3 million freeze likely overlaps with Elliptic’s $52.8 million figure, though the disclosures do not confirm exactly how. The two totals should not be added together, and it remains unclear which companies controlled the other wallets covered by the broader restraints.
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SANCTIONS CONSEQUENCES
OFAC’s designation means any property connected to Xinbi, SafeW Technology or Anwen Technology automatically becomes blocked the moment it comes under a US person’s control — whether that’s a US bank, exchange, or individual. A category of “US persons” covers citizens, residents and US-incorporated entities. Those US persons must freeze such property and report it to OFAC, and they generally cannot transact with the three designated entities at all unless they obtain an exemption or authorization.
Moreover, the restrictions can affect companies outside the United States. A foreign platform could face exposure if it causes a US person to process a prohibited transaction.
The $52 million restrained is the visible number from Wednesday’s action. Less visible: wallet providers, exchanges and payment companies across the industry now have to screen for assets connected to Xinbi, SafeW and Anwen, and review any dealings with the network.
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RESTRAINED, NOT RECOVERED
Authorities must connect the restrained assets to specific crimes and resolve competing claims before any distribution can occur. So far, the Justice Department has said neither how much could reach victims nor when a recovery process might begin.
Wednesday’s action brought the Strike Force’s cumulative total of restrained scam-related funds to about $938 million. It shows how far its campaign against scam-center infrastructure has grown since its formation this year. But Xinbi itself is already adapting. Within hours of the freeze, the marketplace moved about $2.8 million of its remaining funds into USDD, a stablecoin with no central issuer and no freeze mechanism, according to Elliptic.
