Woofun AI reports that the People’s Procuratorate of Jing’an District, Shanghai, has filed charges in a case involving illegal cross-border virtual currency exchanges worth over 200 million yuan. The main culprit, Li, and four others received prison sentences ranging from two years and six months to six years, along with fines between 300,000 yuan and 1.5 million yuan, while four individuals were not prosecuted.

The case originated in July 2024 when the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) detected Company Z using virtual currencies to transfer assets abroad for domestic clients. Established overseas in 2019 by Zhou, Company Z operated without Chinese foreign exchange licenses, posing as a "private bank" with a virtual banking app. Agents referred clients to the company, which used virtual currency traders to settle transactions via separate domestic and overseas accounts, charging a 3% service fee and paying agents a 0.5% commission. Nine people have been apprehended, with one main suspect still under investigation.