Tether Says DOJ Credited Its Assistance in $52 Million Xinbi Crypto Scam Crackdown

Tether said on Sept. 11 that the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) credited its proactive assistance in a major enforcement action that restrained more than $52 million in cryptocurrency tied to the Xinbi Guarantee marketplace, according to a statement the stablecoin issuer published. The acknowledgment came as the DOJ’s Scam Center Strike Force moved against what authorities describe as a Chinese-language marketplace that allegedly connected scam operators with vendors offering money laundering, fraudulent investment websites and the recruitment of trafficking victims.

A $52 million restraint in a single day

The DOJ said investigators traced funds belonging to U.S. victims to vendors operating through the network, which ran on the Telegram messaging app. As part of the action, authorities seized two cryptocurrency wallets that Xinbi used to collect roughly $12 million in vendor payments and sought the restraint of 47 additional wallets believed to be linked to money laundering. Together, the coordinated actions resulted in more than $52 million in cryptocurrency being restrained, according to the company’s account of the DOJ announcement. The marketplace is among a growing number of platforms that authorities say underpin a global scam economy run partly from compounds in Southeast Asia.