Before I start this article, I will do some simple popular science. According to relevant policies in my country, the following interpretation can be made:
1. Virtual currency cannot be used as RMB in my country;
2. Bitcoin and other virtual currencies are a kind of "virtual commodity"
3. Financial activities related to virtual currencies are illegal;
4. Transactions between individuals of virtual currency and legal currency, or between virtual currencies, are not prohibited.
Therefore, simply buying and selling virtual currencies is not illegal in itself, but the transaction itself is likely to involve illegal or criminal behavior. It is inevitable that you will receive black money or have your credit card frozen.
Why is my card frozen? How can I unfreeze it? This article will answer these questions.
1️⃣The first step: Get detailed information about the freeze
🔶How to obtain detailed freezing information?
The simplest and most convenient way is to go to the bank where you opened an account and bring your ID, bank card and other relevant materials (if you are entrusting the inquiry, you need to provide a valid authorization letter).
Of course, if you want to save trouble, you can call the bank where you opened an account, and if you meet a customer service lady who is easy to talk to, you can also conduct a series of relevant information verification and find out the relevant detailed information.
You can query the following information, which is the most basic and critical information for your unfreezing. Then you will query:
1/ The freezing entity (the public security agency or even the police station or the officer in charge; the taxation agency, customs, court, procuratorate or the bank itself freezing due to risk control, etc.);
2/ Freezing time (when does the freezing start, and when does the freezing period start and end);
3/ Reason for freezing (whether it is because of receiving online gambling funds, money transferred from underground banks, credit card swiping, points running, private foreign exchange, suspected fraudulent funds entering your account, or suspected criminal funds entering your account, etc.);
4/Frozen amount;
5/Which amount is frozen?
6/Freezing document number.
🔶What if the bank doesn’t provide you with it?
1/ As a depositor, there is a contractual legal relationship between the cardholder and the bank. The bank is obliged to inform the depositor of the frozen bank card. If the bank refuses to provide the relevant information, you can consult or complain to the superior bank (complain to the bank's supervisory department, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission), and be sure to get the freezing information, otherwise you will not be able to carry out the next step of unfreezing.
2/Sometimes the bank does not print out directly for some reason, but asks you to write down the relevant information of the freeze with a pen. Of course, it is also possible that the freezing agency really has very little information left. In that case, you can only call the freezing agency yourself, ask in order, and then dig out the relevant freezing information. In fact, the police who freeze the account also hope that the owner of the account involved will actively contact the police, so that the police can collect as much suspicious information as possible. Of course, they are also worried about accidental freezing. Once the accidental freezing is confirmed, it will be unfrozen as soon as possible.
3/The account holder received detailed information about the freeze in the text message he left with the bank. As long as the phone number you left with the bank has not changed or you promptly report the change to the bank, the text message will also provide detailed information about the freeze (freezing subject, time, reason, amount, document number, handling police officer, contact number, and even a detailed list of materials that need to be provided). Of course, your phone is not set to block messages.
2️⃣Step 2: Contact the freezing public security agency
🔶Actively contact the public security organs.
1/Some frozen bank cards will be automatically unfrozen after 3 days, but if they are not unfrozen after 3 days, it is likely that the freezing period is 6 months.
2/At this time you must contact the investigating agency and find the investigating agency or the person in charge to negotiate. You may get calls for several days or longer without anyone answering, which will make you very upset. That's because they have frozen a lot of accounts and a lot of people call this number. You need to be more patient and choose to call at different time periods.
3/Generally speaking, every measure to freeze a bank account has strict legal procedures. Usually, after you contact the police officer in charge, you can ask him about the situation, inform him of the reasons and basis for freezing your bank card, and verify whether there is any mistake.
4/Then explain to the freezing agency that the purpose of selling USDT is legal and that you were unaware of the fact that you received the "stolen money". Because the freezing agency only confirms the fact that the party received the "stolen money" based on the party's bank flow, but does not know how the party received the "stolen money", let alone the fact that the party is engaged in virtual currency transactions; the party only knows that he bought and sold USDT, and is completely unaware of the nature of the money he received. Therefore, the party should inform the freezing agency of the fact that he sold USDT as soon as possible, which is the main reason why he may receive unknown funds.
After the party concerned has had preliminary communication with the freezing authority, he or she shall check the transaction records of the individual on the virtual currency trading platform and the frozen bank card flow, verify whether the transaction that led to the freezing of the card exists, check the transaction records and bank card flow, and compare whether the information matches, in order to verify the authenticity of the transaction and whether it was conducted by the person himself or herself. This is to prevent the occurrence of "accidental freezing".
4/He will tell you the amount of money involved in the case and the documents you need to prepare, and the remitters involved in the case may basically be people we don’t know (especially foreign trade companies, gambling funds, underground banks laundering money, fraudulent funds laundering, foreign exchange funds, etc., laundered by purchasing goods, and some people even spend a small amount of money to buy "unidentified money" to pay for the purchase of goods). These are all financial problems that are easy to encounter when selling U.
5/If the police need you to go to the public security organ to take a statement, if you really sold U, you don't have to be afraid, and you don't have to worry about whether there is a flaw in some link of yours, because the police officer wants to check the relationship between you and the money, not other issues about you, whether you know the transaction partner or not. Just provide the transaction materials truthfully. Of course, it is not ruled out that some policemen may use this as an excuse to deter others.
6/ If the amount you owe is large and the police forcefully ask for your statement at home, if you feel guilty and lack confidence, you may wish to find a lawyer friend to accompany you.
7/ Your attitude should be as gentle as possible to gain the police's understanding, sympathy and pity, or at least not disgust. Your attitude should be good and sincere. Don't be unreasonable and expect to be understood. Don't act tough unless you have to, especially if you are indeed involved in gambling. If you make them angry, you may be detained administratively, and you will regret it then.
3️⃣Step 3: Prepare and submit relevant evidence materials
1/ The materials that need to be prepared can be referred to the list below. Of course, they will be sent by express (SF Express or EMS Express), and you will call to confirm whether they have been received afterwards.
2/List of materials needed:
Proof of identity: Provide a valid identification document (such as ID card, passport) to verify your identity.
Transaction records: Submit relevant transaction records or screenshots to explain the specific circumstances of the USDT transaction, including the purchase and sale time, amount, counterparty information, exchange chat records, etc.
Proof of source of funds: If you have any, provide documents proving the source of funds to prove the legality of the funds. This will prove beyond a doubt that your capital flow has a solid legal basis and there is absolutely no trace of any illegality or violation of regulations.
5️⃣Step 4: The police will review and request additional and complete materials
After submitting the relevant materials as required, the officer may ask you to supplement and improve the materials based on the actual situation. Why does this happen?
It is obvious that the materials were submitted in accordance with the required list, because the list sent to you is basically a template list of materials, but the reasons for freezing each person's account are varied (gambling, fraud, underground money laundering, illegal foreign exchange, funds entering suspicious accounts, POS card swiping, cash withdrawal, running points, etc.), so during the actual review, it was found that the specific materials for the frozen case need to be supplemented and improved.
🔶Not transferred to the procuratorate or court
If the case has not been transferred to the procuratorate or the court, the police will generally review the materials within a week after receiving them. Sometimes they may review the materials once every two weeks or even a month. After all, it is impossible to provide you with "one-to-one personalized services" because the cases are frozen in batches, not just your case.
During the review process, you will be required to supplement the materials based on the individual case. After the police receive your supplementary materials, they will review them for a period of time. Finally, they will go through the internal approval and unfreezing procedures of the public security department. After the review is passed, they will be sent to the bank for unfreezing. So please wait patiently, because it may be reviewed in batches, with supplementary materials in batches, approved for unfreezing in batches, and sent to the bank for unfreezing in batches.
🔶Has been transferred to the procuratorate or court
After it has been transferred to the procuratorate or the court, or even deducted, if it has reached this point, it is equivalent to "a done deal", especially if the frozen funds have been deducted, which makes it more difficult.
Before the money is deducted, if you meet a good policeman, you can request to make up the payment (if you didn't know about the freeze or didn't submit the materials before), supplement and complete the materials and send them to the procuratorate or court. However, it is a bit troublesome in practice. After all, it is not the matter of a case-handling agency at this time, but involves several departments.
If the money has already been deducted, it will be even more troublesome. It will be difficult to unfreeze the money and more materials will need to be submitted, because it is very troublesome to overturn the deductions made by the police or the court. You can imagine that if there are no deductions and no materials are submitted to the court or the procuratorate, it will be relatively much better for the public security organs to handle it alone.
🚨Note: Although it has been said before that cryptocurrency trading is not illegal, based on the actual situation of the current negotiations with the police, it is inevitable to return a certain amount of money to the victims involved in the case. Although I understand everyone's feelings, it's just selling a U, but not only the card is frozen, but also the police treat it as a bad guy. I am a victim, but I have to pay money to others?
But for example, if the money that flows into your card is from online fraud in northern Myanmar, in this case, the victim’s money will definitely be lost, and it will be difficult for the police to catch the perpetrator. But the victim does suffer losses, so what should be done? Some victims will continue to complain and report because the police do not file a case or there is no progress after filing a case. Therefore, the case-handling unit also has its own difficulties... So, asking the cardholder to refund the money may be a balance that the case-handling unit seeks among the demands of all parties, right?
5️⃣Step 5: Complain, accuse, and request unfreezing
According to the law, property that is not related to the criminal case should be unfrozen, and seized property that is not related to the case should be returned to the parties involved. Therefore, if you ask the case-handling agency or the person in charge to unfreeze your bank card, you must argue with reason if the evidence, materials, and reasons are sufficient, otherwise no one will take you seriously.
If you communicate with the case handling agency or the handling personnel and request the lifting of the freezing measures in accordance with the law and regulations, but you still do not receive a response or the freezing is not lifted, you can file a complaint:
🔶Appeal to the complaint department of the public security agency
First, file a complaint with the complaint and appeal department of the public security organ (it can be the public security police inspector at the same level or the public security police inspector at the next higher level. What is an inspector? It is a department that punishes and supervises illegal and irregular behaviors within the public security). Every local public security organ will have a complaint and appeal department that specifically accepts complaints and appeals against the illegal handling of cases by the case-handling organs and police officers. You can file a complaint and appeal with these departments, requesting the public security organ to supervise the case-handling personnel to handle the case according to the law and lift the illegal freezing measures according to the law.
🔶Sue the procuratorate and appeal to the appeal department for supervision
Secondly, you can file a complaint with the procuratorial organ and ask for supervision from the complaint and appeal department (the procuratorial organ is the supervisory organ of the public security organ). Each procuratorial organ has a complaint and appeal department, which has the function of investigation supervision. The so-called investigation supervision is to supervise the investigation behavior of the public security organ. If the investigation behavior is illegal, the procuratorial organ has the obligation to conduct legal supervision and make corrections. Therefore, if the public security organ freezes your bank card illegally, it is a case of illegal investigation behavior. You can file a complaint with the procuratorial organ at the same level and request to file a case for supervision and correct the illegal investigation behavior of the public security organ.
Of course, blindly trying to solve the problem through such means will only backfire. Please handle it carefully and solve the problem in a targeted way. After all, the police are also ordinary people. They just wear a uniform on the outside and have seven emotions and six desires. In practice, there are also cases where police deliberately make things difficult or even abuse public power for personal gain. Let's imagine how the previous unjust, false and wrong cases came about. Don't they know? Even angering the police may backfire.
Of course, the appeal also requires the submission of relevant materials, which are basically the same as those submitted to the public security organs, and the specific materials depend on the local procuratorate.
6️⃣Step 6: Administrative review or administrative litigation
If all the previous channels have been exhausted and the case still cannot be unfrozen, then the only options left are administrative reconsideration and administrative litigation. This involves relatively professional skills. If you are not from a legal background, it is recommended that you entrust a professional lawyer.
As for whether to conduct administrative reconsideration first or directly conduct administrative litigation, or conduct administrative reconsideration first and then conduct administrative litigation, each lawyer has a different perspective. My personal suggestion is to conduct administrative reconsideration first and then conduct administrative litigation. Why?
If it is a direct administrative lawsuit, according to our country's regulations on the court jurisdiction of administrative lawsuits, it is generally filed in the grassroots courts. For example, if an administrative lawsuit is filed against the XXX City Public Security Bureau or the XXX County/District Public Security Bureau, it will be heard in the XXX County/District Court. You can imagine whether the court dares to hear the case or think about its fairness and impartiality.
However, if you file an administrative review, the higher-level public security agency or the local government of the public security department is the direct leader of the public security department. If it is indeed wrong or you have sufficient factual basis, the possibility of correction is quite high.
Therefore, my personal suggestion is to conduct administrative review first and then administrative litigation, because this involves more professional content, so just mention it briefly and don't talk too much and make people more confused.
🆘Finally, how can we make withdrawals safer:
1/Choose a large exchange
Use large, well-known cryptocurrency exchange platforms, such as OKX, Binance, etc. These platforms usually have more mature and reliable risk control systems. In the event of freezing, the police can also contact the exchange for investigation.
2/Real-name payment requirements
When selling USDT, make sure the other party uses a real-name account to make the payment. Many exchanges require the payee’s information to be consistent with the exchange registration. If the information does not match, the transaction should be abandoned immediately.
3/Choose a reputable merchant
Choose merchants with high ratings and good reputations to trade on the platform. Exchanges usually rate merchants, and choosing these merchants can reduce risks.
4/Try to delay withdrawal
After receiving the money, do not withdraw it immediately. It is better to wait for a period of time, such as a month or longer, so that it is not easy to be detected by the bank system.
5/Use a dedicated bank card
Set up a bank card specifically for withdrawals, and avoid using bank cards for important daily purposes such as salary cards or mortgage cards. Once your account is frozen, it will not affect your daily life.
6/Use Alipay or WeChat with caution
Compared with bank cards, Alipay or WeChat accounts are more likely to be frozen. Once an account is frozen, it may cause great inconvenience to your life.
7/Save transaction records and chat records
Keep all transaction records and bank statements. These records can serve as important evidence when the account is frozen and help in the unfreezing process.
By taking the above measures, you can reduce the risks in the transaction process to a certain extent and protect the safety of your funds.