In OTC trading, to effectively avoid bank card freezing due to receiving dirty money, pay attention to the following points:
1. Practical tips to prevent card freezing.
Choose quality platforms: Prioritize OTC trading on major platforms like Binance and OKEx. These platforms communicate smoothly with mainland regulatory and law enforcement agencies and have more comprehensive risk control measures.
Consider withdrawal strategies: Choose OTC platforms that support T+1/T+2 withdrawal strategies. For example, Binance's T+1 and Huobi's selective trading (compared to free trading which is T+2 for withdrawals), although you cannot withdraw immediately after selling coins, it can reduce the risk of being suspected of money laundering.
Preferable trading currencies: Avoid using stablecoins like USDT for OTC trading; try to choose mainstream currencies like BTC and ETH.
Use a dedicated bank card: The bank card used for OTC trading should be separate from the salary card and other daily use cards; choose a separate card that is not used regularly. This way, even if the card is frozen, it will not affect the use of other funds, and it will be easier to clarify the flow of funds during the investigation.
Choose the right bank: Try to use cards from local banks, such as city commercial banks and rural commercial banks in various regions. Large and medium-sized joint-stock commercial banks like Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank, and China Merchants Bank have branches all over the country, making it easier for law enforcement to freeze accounts directly.
Avoid frequent trading: Do not frequently trade with fixed merchants or users. If the same user makes more than three indirect purchases in one day or sells the purchased coins within a few hours, there is a high suspicion of money laundering, and the risk is very high.
Carefully select merchants: Try to actively trade with large merchants and major market makers, minimize orders, and avoid merchants in problematic areas. However, as an ordinary user, it is difficult to discern whether a merchant is reliable; for example, many users who traded with merchants serving Huobi Blue Shield also encountered card freezing.
Adjust liquidation methods: Reduce the frequency of withdrawals and increase the amount of each withdrawal.
Handle funds cautiously: After OTC trading, do not transfer funds to your other bank cards to avoid contaminating other funds and causing trouble for the investigation. If you urgently need money, you can withdraw cash through an ATM or make online purchases.
Choose appropriate timing: Try to liquidate during normal working hours on weekdays, such as between 9 AM and 9 PM.
Delay fund transfer: After selling USDT for RMB, do not transfer immediately; keep it in the account for a while.
2. Methods to prove that you are not involved in money laundering after card freezing.
If unfortunately faced with a card freeze, you can prove that you are not involved in money laundering activities from the following aspects:
Indicate that the individual is engaging in normal Bitcoin trading, without involvement in money laundering or other illegal transactions.
Clarify that you are not aware of any criminal involvement related to debts received from selling coins.
Actively cooperate by providing all transaction records, chat records, on-chain transfer records, and other relevant evidence.
Clarify that you understand that engaging in digital asset trading does not violate the law.
3. Materials required to lift the freeze.
When the bank card used for withdrawing funds in OTC trading is frozen by public security, you usually need to provide the following materials to lift the freeze: complete transaction records, including bank card transaction records, on-chain transaction records, and transaction platform order records; WeChat chat records containing the communication process of the transaction; and other evidence that can prove the legality of the assets, and may even require income proof.
4. Solutions after card freezing.
Once your bank card is frozen due to receiving dirty money, you can follow these steps to resolve the issue:
First, visit the account opening bank to understand the reason for the card freeze and the authorities that have the right to freeze it. The reasons for card freezing mainly fall into two categories: bank risk control and police freezing.
Bank risk control: If the card has frequent large transfers, dispersed deposits concentrated withdrawals, concentrated deposits dispersed withdrawals, frequent quick in-and-out transactions, frequent night transactions, or no balance left in the account, these are considered transaction anomalies that may trigger the bank's anti-money laundering risk control system, leading to a freeze.
Public security freeze: Usually occurs due to the account receiving other involved illicit funds, which may be received directly or indirectly. Public security will stop payment and freeze all associated accounts through which the involved funds have passed to prevent fund transfer and facilitate case investigation.
For these two reasons for card freezing, the solutions are as follows:
Bank risk control freeze: Bring your ID card and bank card to the account opening bank for communication, and submit relevant transaction proof. If it involves public security policy directives, you will also need to cooperate with the local public security department for investigation. If the anti-fraud center's model control is triggered, you need to fill out the anti-fraud application form required by anti-fraud, and only after passing the review can the freeze be lifted.
Public security judicial freeze: First observe for 3 days to see if the temporary stop payment will become a formal freeze (continuing for six months). If it turns into a formal freeze, promptly visit the account opening bank to inquire about the name of the public security unit that froze the card, the case number, and the name of the officer in charge, then contact the responsible officer to understand the reason for the card freeze and cooperate with the investigation. After verifying that there are no illegal or disciplinary behaviors, the account will be unfrozen.
