Chinese Police Nab 12 for Scamming OTC Crypto Investors

The Chinese law enforcement has busted a major racket of crypto fraudsters, arresting 12 people impersonating as fake Huobi exchange officials.

According to the local media outlet Jinse, all the arrests were made on Wednesday from the Guangdong province.

The police found their involvement in defrauding crypto investors for millions of Chinese yuan.

The report detailed that the accused started to infiltrate WeChat crypto trading groups from November 2019 and was offering lucrative schemes to the traders. The fake schemes even offered the investors a chance to double their investments.

These fraudsters persuaded crypto investors to invest in fake over-the-counter (OTC Desks OTC Desks Over-the-counter (OTC) desks facilitate the trading of securities that are unlisted on a formal exchange due to various reasons. This can encompass many different asset classes, most notably cryptocurrencies.Often times, due to economies of scale, smaller companies are unable to comply with the listing requirements of formal exchanges or reconcile large fees required by the big industry players. In this scenario, OTC trading desks play a major role, enabling Peer-to-Peer (P2P) crypto trades thro Over-the-counter (OTC) desks facilitate the trading of securities that are unlisted on a formal exchange due to various reasons. This can encompass many different asset classes, most notably cryptocurrencies.Often times, due to economies of scale, smaller companies are unable to comply with the listing requirements of formal exchanges or reconcile large fees required by the big industry players. In this scenario, OTC trading desks play a major role, enabling Peer-to-Peer (P2P) crypto trades thro Read this Term and the amount was then used for money laundering activities and transferred to overseas accounts.

Showing impressive gains to lure investors

One unnamed victim testified that he first invested RMB 100,000 (around $14,000) to the fake schemes and was shown “considerable earnings” on record. He was then persuaded to invest another RMB 3.1 million (little over $436,000), depositing them into various fake accounts.

Though the victims first lured the investors showing fake returns, in February they sent notices to the investors that the investment project “had cracked up” and the money was lost.

According to the Chinese police, the fraudsters diverted the ill-gotten money through various bank accounts to foreign countries.

They have seized computers, mobile phones, bank cards, and other items related to the fraud case.

Cryptocurrency related scams are very common all around the world and victims are being targeted by many tactics.

With the COVID-19 outbreak, many major regulators and local authorities warned citizens against rising crypto extortion scams leveraging their fear of the Coronavirus Coronavirus The outbreak of Covid-19 or Coronavirus in early 2020 has since redefined the financial services industry. Brokers have been forced to quickly adapt to several changes, both positive and negative.This includes the FX industry, which saw surges in volumes across the retail and institutional space in Q1 2020. This trend can be explained by an outflow of volatility, coupled with countries taking major moves to stabilize their respective economies.In conjunction with uncertainty caused by the virus, The outbreak of Covid-19 or Coronavirus in early 2020 has since redefined the financial services industry. Brokers have been forced to quickly adapt to several changes, both positive and negative.This includes the FX industry, which saw surges in volumes across the retail and institutional space in Q1 2020. This trend can be explained by an outflow of volatility, coupled with countries taking major moves to stabilize their respective economies.In conjunction with uncertainty caused by the virus, Read this Term.