US seizes crypto tied to Chinese scam marketplace Xinbi

The Justice Department announced on Tuesday that it had seized Telegram channels and cryptocurrency wallets associated with Xinbi Guarantee. This Chinese-language marketplace, which had over 650,000 users, is accused of selling services to online scam centers that targeted Americans. The DOJ’s Scam Center Strike Force and the Treasury Department collaborated on this action against Xinbi, which authorities stated operated on Telegram as an escrow service for vendors and scam-center operators.

In a single day, officials restrained more than $52 million in cryptocurrency allegedly connected to scam money laundering. This action brought the Scam Force's total restrained funds to approximately $938 million. According to a seizure warrant, Xinbi facilitated a marketplace where vendors advertised custom scam investment websites, money-laundering services, and the recruitment of trafficking victims for scam compounds in Southeast Asia. Xinbi allegedly held payments until vendors completed their work, acting as an escrow to ensure service delivery to scammers. Investigators traced funds from U.S. victims to vendors advertising money-laundering services and posting cryptocurrency wallets for payment on Telegram.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro stated that if Chinese organized crime can purchase custom websites and money-laundering services easily, then Americans with retirement accounts are at risk. She affirmed that her Strike Force would continue to dismantle Chinese organized crime and protect Americans. A federal judge in Washington authorized the seizure of the Telegram channels hosting the marketplace on September 7. The warrant also targeted two cryptocurrency wallets Xinbi allegedly used for payments, which collectively held about $12 million. Law enforcement also sought to restrain 47 additional cryptocurrency wallets linked to money laundering through Xinbi’s network and its vendors.

The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) separately sanctioned Xinbi as a significant transnational criminal organization and identified numerous associated cryptocurrency wallets. OFAC also sanctioned Singapore-based SafeW Technology Co. and Cambodia-based Anwen Technology Co., stating they materially supported Xinbi’s operations. OFAC reported that Xinbi had processed over $24 billion in digital assets and traditional currency since its launch around 2022. The department noted that Xinbi began shifting parts of its network to SafeW, an encrypted messaging app, around June 2025 due to increased law-enforcement scrutiny. Xinbi also introduced XinbiPay, also known as NewPay, a cryptocurrency wallet and payment application.

The FBI reported approximately 453,000 cyber-enabled fraud complaints in 2025, with reported losses exceeding $17.7 billion. Investment fraud accounted for nearly half of scam-related losses, and Americans reported over $11 billion in losses involving cryptocurrency. Pirro also announced the Strike Force's expansion of its focus to scam compounds globally. A team assisted local authorities in Madagascar in dismantling 13 scam centers allegedly operated by Chinese organized-crime syndicates. The team processed over 3,200 electronic devices, and Strike Force investigators opened new cases after interviewing nearly 400 individuals arrested in the operation, including about 30 alleged Chinese leaders who were repatriated to China.

Disagreement on total cryptocurrency restrained

The Justice Department stated that authorities restrained more than $52 million in cryptocurrency tied to scam money laundering in one day. The same department also noted that the Strike Force's total restrained funds reached about $938 million. The KATU report does not specify a total amount restrained by the Treasury Department's OFAC sanctions.

What the coverage left out

None of the centre-rated reports below mention the specific amount of cryptocurrency restrained by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions, only the amount restrained by the Justice Department's Scam Center Strike Force.