TechFlow News, January 31: According to Caixin, Su Jingliang, a 46-year-old Chinese national from Beijing, was sentenced to 46 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution amounting to $26.87 million (approximately RMB 187 million) for his involvement in laundering over $36.9 million (approximately RMB 256 million) in proceeds from “pig-butchering” telecom fraud. Previously, U.S. authorities dismantled a transnational fraud and money-laundering syndicate that used social media or dating apps to build trust with victims, then lured them into fake cryptocurrency trading platforms under the guise of “investment.” Funds from 174 U.S. victims flowed into accounts held by 74 shell companies registered in the United States; upon receipt, these funds were immediately converted into Tether (USDT).
According to reports, within this “pig-butchering” telecom fraud chain, Su Jingliang played a pivotal role as the “accountant,” communicating via the encrypted messaging app Telegram with employees at Deltec Bank to receive funds transferred from front-end shell companies in the United States. He also directed the bank to swiftly convert the incoming U.S. dollar assets into the stablecoin USDT and transfer them to specific cryptocurrency wallets beginning with “TRteo.” Ultimately, funds in these wallets were routed to fraud dens in Southeast Asia.
