US targets Xinbi Guarantee: $52 million in crypto frozen

The US authorities have taken joint action against Xinbi Guarantee, a Chinese escrow platform that connected criminal networks with providers of money laundering services, scam websites and other illegal services. OFAC and the Department of Justice (DOJ) froze or seized more than $52 million in crypto assets on 9 September. The platform is estimated to have processed more than $24 billion in digital and traditional payments since 2022.

In brief:

• OFAC designates Xinbi Guarantee as a criminal organisation and sanctions two supporting companies
• The DOJ seizes related Telegram channels and crypto wallets, including around $12 million from two collection wallets
• Tether had already frozen more than $39 million in USDT on ten TRON addresses linked to the platform

Platform connected scammers with criminal service providers

Xinbi Guarantee operated as an online marketplace for criminals. Through the platform, fraud groups could turn to providers of so-called money mule services, fake crypto exchanges, stolen personal data and even AI deepfake tools. The platform offered anonymity, payment infrastructure and protection to all parties involved.

According to OFAC, Xinbi Guarantee has ties to the Prince Group, Jinbei Casino, North Korean hackers and international criminal syndicates. Those affected are mainly US citizens, who were robbed through phishing, romance scams, crypto fraud and identity theft.

Sanctions and seizures after joint action

OFAC designates Xinbi Guarantee as a so-called Transnational Criminal Organization (TCO), an international criminal organisation with cross-border activities. In addition to the platform itself, the supporting companies SafeW Technology and Anwen Technology are also being sanctioned.

The DOJ is seizing related Telegram channels. The Telegram group in question is no longer accessible and now shows a notice stating that the group has been removed for violating the terms of service. Approximately $12 million is being seized from two collection wallets.

Blockchain analysis firm MistTrack previously reported that Tether had frozen approximately 39.3 million USDT on ten TRON addresses linked to Xinbi Guarantee. That fits a broader pattern: Tether also previously froze funds linked to the similar platform Huione. The money flows ran through several intermediary addresses, a large share of which were already on the OFAC sanctions list.

Crackdown on illegal escrow platforms continues

The action against Xinbi Guarantee follows earlier steps against similar Telegram platforms that act as intermediaries for criminals. Authorities and blockchain analysis firms are working more closely together to track money flows via on-chain data and to label risky addresses in real time.

The total volume of more than $24 billion processed through the platform shows how large such illegal networks can grow before enforcement intervenes. It is unclear how much of that amount was directly related to scams and how much ran through other criminal activities.