Hubei Xiangyang police cracked a case involving illegal fund transfers using virtual currency and recovered over 1.5 million yuan in stolen money and returned it to the victims.

Starting in April 2024, Yang, Yao, Liu, and others established a group chat using an overseas messaging app. Knowing that the funds were likely proceeds of telecom fraud and other crimes, they used the virtual currency Tether to facilitate the transfer of illicit funds. An investigation revealed that the group facilitated the transfer of a total of 2.09 million yuan in fraudulent funds, accumulating illegal profits ranging from 10,000 to 90,000 yuan. During the investigation, the prosecutors, through legal explanations and reasoning, encouraged the suspects to voluntarily return the illegal proceeds. Through various measures, over 1.5 million yuan in illicit funds were recovered, which were returned proportionally to 17 victims of telecom fraud after the verdict took effect.