The procuratorial authorities in Hunan, China, have dismantled a new type of money laundering chain that used Moutai liquor transactions as a cover and virtual currency as a channel

Recently, a first-instance verdict was announced in a case of concealing and hiding criminal proceeds, which was prosecuted by the People's Procuratorate of Yuetang District, Xiangtan City, Hunan Province, China. A new type of money laundering chain, disguised as a Maotai liquor transaction and using virtual currency as a channel, was completely dismantled, involving an amount of over 6.84 million yuan, with all 8 defendants sentenced. The gang had clear divisions of labor and strong concealment.

Chen connected with upstream sources through overseas encrypted communication software, received telecom fraud proceeds, and contacted "U merchants" to complete the exchange and circulation of virtual currency; Xie was responsible for providing tools for the crime and keeping track of financial details; Huang used Maotai liquor trading as a cover to disguise the trajectory of the transfer of criminal proceeds with real transaction shells; the remaining members assisted with fund settlement and information transmission. The gang used fake Maotai liquor transactions as the "cleaning" stage, disguising overseas fraud proceeds as legitimate business income, converting them into virtual currency to return to upstream, and taking an illegal commission of 8% for each "cleaning."

In December 2023, with a report from a victim, this black and gray industrial chain hidden under the guise of liquor trading surfaced. After the incident, the People's Procuratorate of Yuetang District intervened in the investigation early, guiding the public security organs to sort through nearly 20 million yuan in fund flows and massive electronic data, achieving a full-chain crackdown and comprehensive evidence collection. The court ultimately sentenced Xie and 7 other principal and accomplice offenders to fixed-term imprisonment ranging from 2 to 6 years for the crime of concealing and hiding criminal proceeds; the relatively minor offender Liang was sentenced to 1 year in prison with 1 year of probation.