Chinese Authorities Bring $14B Crypto Scam Mastermind Home After Global Manhunt

Key Takeaways:

• Chinese authorities extradited a crypto scam kingpin after three years of chasing.
• The scammer was arrested in Thailand after a year-long search and deported to China on Aug. 14.
• The scam kingpin allegedly ran crypto scams for over a decade, defrauding 10 million investors of $14 billion.

Chinese authorities have finally caught up with crypto scam kingpin Zhang Moumou in Thailand, following a three-year global pursuit that ended with a joint operation  between the Chinese embassy and local law enforcement agencies.

Scam Kingpin Robbed Over $14 Billion from 10 Million Investors

Moumou headed a crypto investment firm called MBI Group. The exclusive investment platform charged a membership fee between 700 and 245,000 yuan or $900 and $34,328.

The scheme lured investors with promises of high returns but was actually a Ponzi pyramid scheme that relied on deceiving new participants to fund earlier investors.

The scam platform used enticing discounts as a hook to reel in investors, promising unusually high returns on their initial investment. However, once users had invested substantial amounts, the platform would disappear with their funds.

One report suggests that the scam has been active since 2012, the early days of crypto. Over the last 12 years, the scammers managed to rug 10 million users for over 100 billion yuan ($14 billion).

Zhang Came Under Scanner in 2020

Zhang and his scam operations first came under the radar in November 2020, eight years after the firm started scamming investors. 

The Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau filed a lawsuit against Zhang in late 2020.

In March 2021, the Interpol China Nationalthrt Central Bureau issued a red notice in his name. After three years of manhunt and nearly 12 years of running scams, Zhang was arrested and taken into custody by the Thai police on July 21, 2022. 

Following his arrest, China requested that Thailand extradite Zhang per the bilateral extradition treaty. The Thai Court of Appeal decided to extradite Zhang to China on May 21st of this year. The Thai government carried out the court orders on Aug. 14.

China’s Crypto Stance

China imposed a blanket ban on any crypto-focused activity, be it crypto mining or trading, in 2021. However, despite a blanket ban on crypto, the local crypto community continues to access the crypto ecosystem and decentralized exchange platforms.

Since the ban in 2021, several cases of fraud and scams have emerged from the country. When brought to court, many of these cases saw the Chinese courts uphold the victims’ rights and, in certain instances, deem crypto holders to have certain rights over their assets.

Amid speculations around easening the crypto blanket ban in China, the Beijing authorities issued an updated anti-money laundering regulation to include crypto transactions. Under the new law, crypto transactions are deemed as a money laundering tool.

About the Author

Prashant Jha

Prashant Jha is a crypto-journalist focused on the US and UK markets, his interests lie in blockchain technology and crypto adoption across emerging economies.

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