The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced on the 9th (local time) that it has sanctioned "Xinbi Guarantee," a transnational criminal organization (TCO) operating a Chinese-language cyber scam platform.

OFAC determined that the organization operates a massive illicit online marketplace to support criminal activities such as scams targeting Americans, human trafficking, and money laundering.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, "Scam centers in Southeast Asia steal billions of dollars from American victims every year," adding, "The Trump administration is united to dismantle these transnational criminal networks, and the Treasury will continue to use its tools to disrupt the networks behind these malicious scams and protect Americans."

OFAC also added two entities that support the core operations of Xinbi Guarantee by providing cryptocurrency and other financial services to the sanctions list.

This round of sanctions was carried out in coordination with the U.S. Department of Justice's Strike Force on Cyber Scams and Fraud (SCSF).

The SCSF seized the infrastructure and cryptocurrency wallets used by Xinbi Guarantee on the 9th (local time).

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia announced that it took joint action against Xinbi Guarantee alongside the Treasury Department and the SCSF.

The federal prosecutors stated that they dispatched the SCSF to Madagascar to assist in raiding 13 scam compounds operated by Chinese nationals there, freezing $52 million (approx. 70 billion KRW) in cryptocurrency linked to money laundering.

Jeanine Pirro, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, said, "If Chinese organized crime groups can use (online) money laundering services as easily as ordering takeout, every American is within the blast radius of that harm," adding, "The task force will continue to dismantle Chinese organized crime and those who aid them."

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