PANews reported on November 1 that, according to the official WeChat account of the Dinghai Court in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province, the court recently concluded a case involving the crime of aiding and abetting cybercrime through virtual currency transactions.

From October 2022 to August 2023, Huang and 10 others registered multiple "businesses" on an overseas cryptocurrency platform, profiting through profit sharing and buying low and selling high Tether (USDT). Knowing that illegal activities might exist upstream in the transactions, they still received transfers from victims such as Gan and Wen via WeChat through their employees, then deposited the Tether into designated accounts to facilitate the transfer of funds related to telecommunications fraud and other crimes. During this period, the WeChat accounts of each "business" frequently experienced risk control and freezing due to suspected fraud. The individuals involved unblocked the accounts by forging fake transaction screenshots and tracking numbers, or by changing the accounts to evade supervision.

An investigation revealed that Huang and others had assisted in the payment and settlement of over 5 million yuan in funds related to cybercrime, with several defendants involved in transferring funds ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions of yuan. On August 28, 2023, the ten defendants were arrested in Fuzhou and Putian, Fujian Province.

The court sentenced Huang to two years and eleven months in prison for aiding and abetting cybercrime and fined him 50,000 yuan. Nine accomplices, including Yao and Guo, were sentenced to prison terms ranging from seven months to two years and three months, all with suspended sentences and fines. The 877,000 yuan of illicit funds seized in the case were returned to the victims, and the mobile phones, hard drives, and other tools used in the crime were confiscated in accordance with the law.