Recently, the Mankun Law Firm received a case that is quite disheartening, to be honest.

A male student who had just entered his junior year was introduced to a part-time job online doing "proxy purchasing of virtual currency." The process sounded simple: the other party would transfer RMB to his bank account in mainland China, and he would take the subway to Hong Kong, then use that money to buy coins at a street-side USDT exchange shop and transfer them to a designated wallet address. A round trip would come with travel subsidies, and he could earn five to six hundred yuan.

The other party specifically emphasized, "This is not illegal; virtual currency is legal in Hong Kong." The young man checked online and found that it was indeed the case, with even the Hong Kong government’s official website displaying policies supporting the development of virtual assets. He felt more at ease and completed several transactions, thinking this part-time job was too good to be true. But one day, his bank card was suddenly frozen by the bank, and he realized that this was actually illegal. When he told the person who assigned him the task that he was scared, the other party threw out chat records and transfer screenshots, threatening him: "If you don’t continue cooperating, I will report you as a member of a fraud gang."

You might think he was just running errands to earn some pocket money, but unexpectedly, he became a lamb waiting to be slaughtered by a criminal gang.

And similar stories are no longer rare.

The number of such requests for help received by Mankun Law Firm has significantly increased in the past six months, reflecting a trend that cannot be ignored: money laundering gangs are precisely targeting university students, packaging a key link in the criminal chain with high rewards.

Part-time Job Turns into "Assisting": Stepping into the Legal Red Line

Many students feel that they are just performing some simple operations, not dealing with drugs or defrauding users, so how could they be committing a crime? But the reality is harsh. In Chinese criminal law, there is a crime called "assisting information network criminal activities," which we in the industry refer to as "assisting crime."

As long as you know, or "should know," that the task you are helping with is assisting others in completing online fraud, money laundering, or transferring stolen funds, you may be committing a crime. The key phrase here is "should know," meaning that even if you do not have conclusive evidence, as long as you should realize from common sense that "something is off," you may be held responsible for your actions.

Once you get involved in virtual currency transactions and cross-border fund flows, especially if you transfer "unknown" funds from your mainland account, then exchange them for highly anonymous USDT, and directly send them to a stranger's wallet on the blockchain, this entire process is seen by the police as a typical criminal pathway.

The more realistic consequences are: your bank card may be frozen, your Alipay and WeChat Pay may face risk control restrictions, and you could even be listed as a person involved in telecom fraud, affecting your ability to open accounts, obtain loans, or seek employment in the future. Some students are even required to "return stolen goods" or "repay the price difference," and may be detained to assist in investigations, ultimately leaving a criminal record that could affect their graduation.

"Legal Does Not Mean No Responsibility": Hong Kong Legal ≠ Mainland Legal

The reason these criminal gangs repeatedly succeed is partly due to the complex gray area of virtual currency itself, and partly because they use seemingly reasonable arguments like "legal in Hong Kong," "free trading," and "no legal issues" to numb you.

Indeed, in Hong Kong, virtual assets are supported by regulatory oversight, exchanges can operate with licenses, and there are no legal prohibitions on buying and selling virtual currencies. But the question is, are your actions of receiving payments, handling funds, and operating blockchain wallets compliant in mainland China? Is the source of the funds legitimate? These cannot be whitewashed by simply saying, "I’m just helping someone buy."

More importantly, the legal stance on virtual currency in mainland China is very clear: it cannot circulate as legal tender, and providing exchange and settlement services for it is prohibited. This means that even if you go to Hong Kong and the path is through a "legal exchange," if the source of the funds is from mainland China and the transfer is completed in mainland China, then the applicable law is still mainland law.

Why University Students? The "Precise Targeting" Logic of Money Laundering Gangs

In many cases disclosed by the police, the "intermediaries" being exploited often share several common characteristics: young, no criminal record, "clean" bank cards, free time, and in need of money.

Especially for some junior and senior university students, they happen to have free time, the ability to travel, a bit of internet knowledge, and may even feel they are grasping the trend of "new finance." Once these individuals come across terms like "high-paying USDT purchasing," "legal cross-border wealth management," or "arbitrage trading in Hong Kong," they can easily be tempted, even comforting themselves: I'm just an intermediary, not really doing anything bad.

But in the money laundering network, it is precisely these "white gloves" and "messengers" that keep the entire chain running. Your bank card helps them turn black market money into white; your legs run the money that regulatory authorities in mainland China cannot track to Hong Kong. The other party can treat you as expendable; once something goes wrong, you are the first line of fire, and they can just switch to someone else and continue.

Mankun Law Firm's Advice

If you happen to see this article, you might want to self-check if you have recently encountered any of the following "part-time opportunities":

First, the other party proposes to transfer money to your personal account for you to operate currency exchange or buy coins abroad;

Second, the entire process lacks a formal contract, the company name is vague, and communication is only through WeChat or Telegram;

Third, after completing the task, the other party pays you in USDT or cash, rather than through normal invoices and service contracts.

If two out of these three points apply, it is advisable to be alert immediately. This is not freelancing; it is on the edge of the gray market.

We understand that university students want to earn money, gain internship experience, have some pocket money, and even hope to explore new industries and fields. But it must be reminded that while the virtual currency industry may seem appealing, it is also very deep; many money laundering gangs, disguised in innovative clothing, are putting you in the most dangerous position while asking you to "run errands."

We hope this article can remind more young people interested in Web3 that while the industry is promising, it is essential to stick to the right path.

Feel free to share this article with your university friends; it might help them avoid a misguided path.

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