According to Foresight News, a criminal gang in Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province, has been recently reported to have illegally cashed out over 200,000 yuan in just four days using digital yuan accounts. The gang members persuaded merchants with digital yuan accounts to cash out through casual conversations and shopping. After the merchants agreed to cash out, the criminals converted a certain amount of their money into virtual currency as a deposit to the upper-level members. They then sent the digital yuan collection code to the upper-level members. Once the fraudulent funds entered the merchant's digital yuan account, the merchant deducted a service fee ranging from 1% to 1.5%, and the criminals cashed out the corresponding amount of cash.
The Yuecheng District Procuratorate prosecuted the case, and the court sentenced the criminals, identified as Yuan, Zhang, and Kou, to fixed-term imprisonment ranging from 14 months to 7 months for concealing and disguising criminal proceeds. They were also fined.
The prosecutor reminded the general public to enhance their understanding of the digital yuan and pay attention to protecting their personal information. In case of suspicious circumstances, they should report to the police promptly to protect their property safety.