China has extradited a suspect surnamed Zhang from Thailand. Zhang allegedly led a massive $14 billion pyramid scheme involving cryptocurrency, making Zhang the first financial criminal suspect to be extradited through the China-Thailand extradition treaty since it took effect in 1999.
Chinaâs Ministry of Public Security announced today that Chinese and Thai authorities have formed a special working group called âHunting Foxâ and extradited Zhang to China on Wednesday.
Starting in 2012, Zhang allegedly led a scheme known as âMBI Group,â which lured investors into paying fees ranging from 700 yuan ($98) to 245,000 yuan ($34,300) to obtain membership through the issuance of cryptocurrency. The authorities said the group lured over 10 million members with promises of high returns, with the funds involved exceeding 100 billion yuan ($14 billion).
According to the police's announcement, the police in Chongqing, a first-tier city in Southwestern China, initiated an investigation into Zhang in November 2020. In March 2021, Interpolâs Chinese branch issued a red notice for Zhang. Then, in July 2022, the police in Thailand arrested him, and a court in Thailand issued a ruling to extradite Zhang to China in May this year.
Start your day with the most influential events and analysis
happening across the digital asset ecosystem.
China banned crypto trading activities on the mainland in 2021, but many investors still tried to circumvent the rules. In May, Chinese police busted an underground bank that used the USDT stablecoin for foreign currency exchanges, involving transactions worth at least 13.8 billion yuan ($1.9 billion).
Earlier this week, Chinaâs top legal authorities included using cryptocurrencies to transfer illicit funds as a money laundering method in a judicial interpretation â making it easier to investigate and prosecute crypto-linked money laundering cases.
Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.
© 2024 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
