According to reports, Chinese authorities have successfully dismantled a huge gambling network operating internationally after two years of continuous investigations. At the same time, they also seized $160 million worth of cryptocurrencies. However, there may be more details involved in this story.
According to Chinese media reports today, the police have seized the cryptocurrency under a court order. While this is an important development, investigators believe they have wiped out only a small fraction of illegal gambling organizations.
According to officials, the findings revealed that, in addition to the known affiliates, there are many other establishments that may be involved in the illegal gambling network. The size of the illegal gambling syndicate is said to be huge, with assets estimated to be as high as 400 billion yuan ($56 billion).
Citizen Tip Uncovers Illegal Gambling
In July 2021, after receiving a report from Xiong Xiong, a resident of Hubei Province, China, the police began to investigate. Xiong Xiong allegedly confessed that he was involved in online gambling, but he decided to report the case to the police only after witnessing others conducting large-scale encryption transactions.
Armed with this information, investigators began digging deeper into the activity. The investigation posed challenges for law enforcement officials due to the complexity of the case itself and the group’s attempts to use technology to cover its tracks.
Through investigation after investigation, Chinese law enforcement agencies have discovered a huge global network and revealed a shocking fact. The network operates primarily using cryptocurrencies in order to conceal its financial transactions and keep them away from the traditional banking system.
By the time the police got involved, they already had enough evidence to back up the case. And when their joint operations spread across the provinces, they managed to smash 14 gangs and arrest more than 130 suspects.
Since 1949, the People’s Republic of China has outlawed gambling, leading to numerous arrests in surrounding countries and an increase in underworld-led gambling. Chinese officials then announced a ban on cryptocurrency trading in September 2021, following a ban in 2019.
Even so, due to its high difficulty control, the product is still very popular in China. Meanwhile, China has been actively promoting the development of a central bank digital currency over the past few years.
Macau is the only region in China where gambling is currently legally allowed. In addition, Macau tried to delve into digital currency products, but had to abandon the project after China interfered.
Crypto Developers in the Loop
According to Toutiao today, the law enforcement agency did not directly seize the cryptocurrency, but sought assistance from the “digital currency issuer” in what the media called.
Chinese police cracked down on a criminal organization operating an online gambling business last October. The case was one of the largest uncovered at the time, with the group reportedly laundering as much as $5.6 billion in cryptocurrencies.
More than a year ago, they took down a smaller gang again. The gang also uses cryptocurrencies for online gambling. During the raid, authorities seized more than $3.8 million in cryptocurrency.
