Key Takeaways
- A $52 million operation lifted the strike force’s total to $938 million.
- Treasury flagged reported North Korean use of Xinbi Guarantee.
- U.S. investigators helped authorities target 13 Madagascar scam centers.
Crypto Scam Crackdown Nears $1 Billion
About $938 million in scam-linked cryptocurrency has been restrained by the Justice Department’s Scam Center Strike Force, following an operation targeting a marketplace operating on Telegram. The department announced Sept. 9:
“Approximately $52 million of cryptocurrency involved in scam money laundering was restrained in one day, bringing the total restrained by the Scam Center Strike Force to approximately $938 million.”
The cumulative figure follows an earlier milestone of more than $580 million in cryptocurrency frozen, seized, or forfeited by the strike force. Those enforcement totals span multiple investigations, while the latest action focused on Xinbi and vendors allegedly supporting organized fraud.
The marketplace allegedly held buyers’ payments until vendors completed their services, providing an escrow arrangement for transactions between operators and suppliers. Investigators traced U.S. victims’ funds to vendors advertising laundering services through Telegram, according to the warrant.
A federal court authorized seizure of the marketplace’s Telegram channels on Sept. 7, according to the department. Authorities also seized two payment wallets holding approximately $12 million. The department added:
“Law enforcement also sought restraint of 47 additional cryptocurrency wallets that were believed to be associated with money laundering on Xinbi’s network and with vendors who had worked for scammers.”
Treasury Flags Reported North Korean Use
Xinbi’s financial reach extended beyond individual scam compounds, with Treasury estimating more than $24 billion in transactions since its inception around 2022. That figure covers digital assets and government-issued currencies processed through its marketplace and platforms, primarily supporting transactions in Southeast Asia. Treasury stated that North Korean hackers and sanctioned entities had reportedly used the platform.
Those reported users included Jin Bei Group and entities within the sanctioned Prince Group. U.S. and British authorities targeted the Cambodia-based group in October 2025, alleging involvement in large-scale fraud and human trafficking. Treasury described the latest Xinbi designations as building on earlier enforcement against that network.
Xinbi operated alongside a broader market for Chinese-language money laundering services. Chainalysis estimated that those networks processed $16.1 billion in illicit cryptocurrency during 2025, a total that excluded guarantee platforms such as Xinbi and Huione. Vendors use Telegram guarantee platforms to advertise their services and connect with customers, with escrow arrangements supporting transactions between participants.
US Targets Xinbi’s Supporting Companies and Overseas Scam Centers
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Xinbi Guarantee and two supporting companies on Sept. 9. Those companies were Singapore-based Safew Technology and Cambodia-based Anwen Technology, which Treasury identified as providers of messaging and payment applications supporting Xinbi’s operations.
Growing enforcement scrutiny had already prompted Xinbi to begin shifting merchant and laundering networks to an encrypted messaging application around June 2025, Treasury explained. The platform also launched a cryptocurrency payment application and digital wallet developed by Anwen.
The alleged services sold through Xinbi included custom investment scam websites, linking its vendor network to fake crypto platforms used to solicit deposits. Fraudulent exchanges and imitation websites can present themselves as legitimate destinations for cryptocurrency while directing users’ funds to scammers.
Separately, the strike force deployed investigators to Madagascar to support local authorities targeting 13 Chinese-run scam compounds. During the two-week deployment, the team helped process more than 3,200 electronic devices and opened investigations based on interviews with nearly 400 arrestees, according to the Justice Department.
