U.S. authorities have frozen $52.8 million in cryptocurrency and seized the Telegram channels of Xinbi Guarantee, a massive Chinese-language cybercrime marketplace that processed over $24 billion in transactions. The Treasury Department designated Xinbi as a transnational criminal organization, alongside two tech enablers in Singapore and Cambodia. Concurrently, the DOJ's Scam Center Strike Force assisted Madagascar authorities in dismantling 13 Chinese-run scam compounds, arresting nearly 400 people.
Xinbi Guarantee cryptocurrency seizure
- ▪The U.S. Department of Justice seized two cryptocurrency wallets used by Xinbi Guarantee to collect vendor payments, which held approximately $12 million between them.
- ▪The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Secret Service restrained approximately $52.8 million in cryptocurrency across 52 wallets linked to the illicit marketplace Xinbi Guarantee on September 8, 2026.
- ▪The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia authorized the seizure of the Telegram channels hosting the Xinbi Guarantee marketplace on September 7, 2026.
- ▪Tether proactively assisted the U.S. investigation by freezing approximately 39.27 million USDT across ten Tron addresses linked to Xinbi Guarantee on September 8, 2026.
Telegram marketplace vendor services
- ▪Xinbi Guarantee acted as an escrow intermediary, holding buyer payments in cryptocurrency until vendors completed their advertised services for scam center operators.
- ▪Xinbi Guarantee operated primarily in Chinese on Telegram as an escrow marketplace where vendors advertised custom fraud websites, money laundering, and human trafficking recruitment.
Treasury OFAC criminal designation
- ▪The U.S. Department of the Treasury stated that Xinbi Guarantee has processed over $24 billion in digital assets and fiat currency since its inception around 2022.
- ▪The U.S. Department of the Treasury designated Singapore-based SafeW Technology Co., Ltd. and Cambodia-based Anwen Technology Co., Ltd. for providing material support to Xinbi Guarantee.
- ▪The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Xinbi Guarantee as a significant transnational criminal organization on September 9, 2026.
Elliptic blockchain wallet tracking
- ▪Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic tracked Xinbi Guarantee's wallet infrastructure for several years, providing the intelligence that enabled the U.S. Secret Service to freeze the assets.
- ▪Elliptic reported that Xinbi Guarantee is the second-largest illicit online marketplace ever tracked, behind Huione Guarantee which processed $31 billion before shutting down in 2025.
Madagascar compound disruption operations
- ▪The U.S. Scam Center Strike Force deployed to Madagascar to assist local authorities in dismantling 13 Chinese-run scam compounds and arresting nearly 400 people.
- ▪During the Madagascar deployment, investigators processed more than 3,200 electronic devices and repatriated approximately 30 Chinese compound leaders to China.
USDD stablecoin migration
- ▪Elliptic founder Dr. Tom Robinson noted that Xinbi Guarantee's migration to USDD faces limitations because USDD is partly collateralized with freezable USDT.
- ▪Following the asset freeze, Xinbi Guarantee swapped approximately $2.8 million of its remaining USDT into USDD, a stablecoin that lacks a central issuer freeze function.
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