Recently, a real case has caused a stir in the cryptocurrency circle: a certain person made a profit by buying and selling USDT through a bank card, accumulating a transaction volume of 6.8 million yuan, and was ultimately sentenced to three years for "concealing and hiding criminal proceeds." This shattered the perception of many that "virtual currency transactions have no criminal risks" — when seemingly ordinary OTC transactions intersect with money laundering and fraud funding chains, the legal risks can far exceed expectations. The following analyzes three high-frequency criminal scenarios and key points to avoid pitfalls based on real case examples:

1. Analysis of three major criminal risk scenarios 1. Assisting in crime (Criminal Law Article 287-2): Passive involvement may still result in a conviction. Typical case: a certain person sold 100,000 USDT without realizing the buyer was a fraud gang. After their bank card was frozen for the first time, they continued to trade and were ultimately convicted of "knowingly providing payment settlement assistance despite account abnormalities," receiving a sentence of one and a half years in prison.
🔍 Legal logic: Even if one did not directly participate in the crime, as long as the account received funds related to fraud and there were abnormal behaviors such as "continuing to trade after being reminded" or "frequently changing accounts," it can be presumed to be "subjectively aware," meeting the criteria for "assisting in activities of information network crime." 2. Concealing and hiding criminal proceeds (Criminal Law Article 312): Knowing and intentional acts escalate criminal responsibility. High-risk scenario: a certain person, after being clearly informed by the buyer that "the funds are used for money laundering," still provided multiple bank cards for trading, accumulating a transaction volume of 2.4 million yuan, and was ultimately sentenced to three years and two months.
⚠️ Key distinction: Compared to the "indirect assistance" of assisting in crime, this crime requires the perpetrator to "know that the funds are criminal proceeds" and have engaged in positive assistance behaviors such as transferring or converting funds, with a sentence (3-7 years) significantly heavier than assisting in crime. 3. Illegal business operation (Criminal Law Article 225): Professional reselling touches on the foreign exchange red line. Case warning: a certain person established an OTC trading platform and traded over 300 million yuan in USDT within two years, which the court deemed as "disguised foreign exchange trading." Due to violating national foreign exchange management regulations, they were convicted of illegal business operations, receiving a five-year sentence.
Legal basis: The exchange of USDT and RMB essentially constitutes foreign exchange trading. Large-scale, frequent reselling without permission may be regarded as "illegal foreign exchange business operations." 2. Three major misconceptions: What you think is "safe operation" is actually full of risk points. ❌ Misconception 1: "Not directly participating in fraud, helping to transfer funds is fine."
Reality: In judicial practice, as long as the funding chain involves a piece of stolen money, and the transaction behavior objectively assists upstream crimes, it can constitute complicity or downstream crime. The defense of "unawareness" requires sufficient counter-evidence.
❌ Misconception 2: "Cash transactions / transactions with acquaintances are safer."
Risk: Large cash transactions that cannot explain their legal source may trigger investigations for "money laundering"; once the upstream of an acquaintance's transaction chain is involved in a case, downstream accounts will be tracked throughout the chain, resulting in high "joint liability risk."
❌ Misconception 3: "Using anonymous tools for transactions, judicial authorities won't find out."
Warning: Using encrypted communication tools like Telegram or Bat, frequently changing trading accounts, or refusing to provide counterparty information can lead judicial authorities to directly presume "subjective awareness," significantly lowering the threshold for conviction evidence.

3. Three core standards for judicial identification (must-read!) Examination of the nature of funds: Even if a single transaction involves stolen money, the entire transaction volume may be included in the calculation of criminal amounts; transaction scale and frequency: monthly transaction volume exceeding 200,000 yuan (the threshold for assisting in crime), annual transaction volume exceeding 5 million yuan (serious circumstances for concealing and hiding crime), directly triggering criminal case filing; presumption of subjective awareness: behaviors such as continuing to trade after multiple account freezes, using anonymous tools for communication, and trading prices significantly deviating from market prices may all be recognized as "should have known the funds were abnormal."

4. Emergency pit avoidance guide and response measures 🔥 Immediate action: Stop all OTC transactions: unfreezing bank accounts does not mean risk is lifted; historical transactions may still be traced; self-check transaction records: export bank statements from the past three years (with counter-stamped), organize counterparty information (chat records, transfer notes, etc.), and prepare proof of legal source of funds (such as salary statements, contract payments, etc.). 🚫 Golden three principles when summoned: Verify identity: request to show police credentials, record the officer's name, unit, and identification number; cautious statement: avoid vague answers to key questions such as "whether aware of the source of funds," truthfully say "not clear" or "do not remember" for uncertain matters; lawyer involvement: contact a lawyer immediately, meticulously check the transcript before signing, and refuse to sign blank or factually incorrect documents.

5. Supreme Court case law authoritative guidance (highlight points) Legal attribute of USDT: it is regarded as "virtual property" that is protected but not legal currency, and trading behavior is not protected by the monetary regulatory system; Professional trading characterization: long-term resale of USDT for profit is equivalent to "disguised foreign exchange trading." Those with serious circumstances constitute illegal business operations; determination of subjective intent: if trading is not immediately stopped after receiving abnormal funds, or if a reasonable explanation cannot be provided, judicial authorities can directly presume "knowingly or ought to know."#代币发射平台竞争加剧
[Conclusion] The "gray area" of virtual currency trading is being clearly defined by the judiciary. From the "passive involvement" of assisting in crime to the "professional risks" of illegal business operations, each link harbors criminal minefields. For ordinary people, the safest approach is to stay away from OTC trading; if already involved in a case, it is essential to pay attention to the integrity of trading records and the legality of fund sources, and seek professional legal assistance immediately to avoid significant losses due to minor issues.#美国加征关税 #策略交易

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