⚠️ Supreme People's Procuratorate | More effective punishment for criminal activities such as illegal transfer of assets overseas using virtual currency, tax evasion, and fraudulent export tax refunds The original text is as follows: Supreme People's Procuratorate: In 2024, more effective punishment will be given to criminal activities such as illegal transfer of assets overseas using virtual currencies On February 14th, Caixin News Agency reported that the Supreme People's Procuratorate announced today the comprehensive deepening of prosecutorial reform in 2024. It is mentioned that relevant departments should collaborate to formulate judicial interpretations, improve judicial norms for punishing criminal cases such as securities and futures, money laundering, and endangering tax administration, and more effectively punish criminal activities such as illegal transfer of assets overseas using virtual currency, tax evasion, and fraudulent export tax refunds. Improve the equal protection mechanism for all types of business entities, supervise and correct the use of criminal means to intervene in economic disputes, illegally seal up, seize and freeze assets, especially the illegal enforcement of laws in different places and the pursuit of profit in judicial issues in accordance with the law. Establish a sound mechanism for the Supreme People's Procuratorate to dispatch prosecutors to the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and strengthen the coordination between financial supervision, law enforcement, and judiciary. one ️⃣ Let's first interpret this news: The main text states that in the comprehensive deepening of prosecutorial reform work in 2024, the Supreme People's Procuratorate mentioned collaborating with relevant departments to formulate judicial interpretations, improve judicial norms for punishing criminal cases such as securities and futures, money laundering, and endangering tax collection and management, More effectively punish criminal activities such as illegal transfer of assets overseas, tax evasion, and fraudulent export tax refunds using virtual currencies. What we need to focus on is the key sentence: to more effectively punish criminal activities such as illegal transfer of assets overseas using virtual currency, tax evasion, and fraudulent export tax refunds. Keywords include: punishing securities and futures, money laundering, endangering taxation, illegally transferring assets overseas, tax evasion, and defrauding export tax refunds; Listen carefully, these are the key points because they could all become charges! two ️⃣ The impact and risk points on the cryptocurrency community in mainland China—— 1. Significant increase in legal risks Strengthening criminal accountability: After virtual currency transactions are explicitly listed as money laundering methods, coin merchants or high-frequency traders involved in OTC transactions and cross-border asset transfers may face criminal charges for mixing "black money" into the asset chain. For example, if the transaction involves electronic fraud or underground bank funds, even if one is not aware, they may be implicated, resulting in account freezing or being investigated as a witness, making it difficult to get involved and escape; Do you know that the legal boundaries are not clear; Criminalization of "self money laundering": According to the 2024 Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Money Laundering, the act of transferring criminal proceeds through virtual currency may be recognized as "self money laundering" and directly trigger criminal liability; 2. Cross border transactions have become a key target of crackdown; Using virtual currencies to evade foreign exchange controls (such as transferring assets overseas or evading taxes) will face stricter punishment. We may have all touched on this matter. There are strict foreign exchange controls in China, and if you convert RMB into USDT and bring it abroad for consumption, it can already set some charges against you to some extent; Underground banks use virtual currency to achieve a grey chain of "exchange virtual currency foreign currency", which may be defined as illegal business or money laundering crimes, and participants may face the highest sentence of life imprisonment. 3. Increased compliance requirements for transactions: The source of funds needs to be strictly reviewed: cryptocurrency professionals need to keep complete transaction records and proof of funding links to avoid unclear sources of large amounts of funds. If the legality of the funds cannot be proven, they may be presumed to be involved in the case. The risk of over-the-counter trading has intensified: OTC trading has become a focus of law enforcement due to its high anonymity and complex fund flow. Frequent or large transactions may trigger monitoring by anti money laundering systems, resulting in account freezing or judicial investigation. 4. Uncertainty in judicial disposal: The legal nature of virtual currency is still controversial (such as whether it belongs to property or prohibited items), and judicial determinations may vary in different cases. For example, in civil disputes, it may not be recognized as legal property, but in criminal cases, it may be confiscated as property involved in the case. 5. Personal account and property risks: Card freezing risk: Personal bank accounts involved in virtual currency transactions may be frozen due to suspicious fund flows, and the unfreezing process is complex, requiring self verification of the legality of the funds. There is a big difference in this regard. When encountering a certain type of case handling unit, one should seek blessings on their own. Civil rights and interests are not protected: Chinese laws do not protect virtual currency related transactions. If losses are caused due to trading disputes (such as platform absconding or fraud), investors find it difficult to recover through legal means. 6. Regarding OTC withdrawals: The difficulty of off exchange trading is bound to increase, and OTC trading and on chain transfers may become regulatory priorities, especially those involving large amounts of funds or frequent USDT transactions, which are easily suspected of illegal cross-border asset transfers. In the past, OTC traders, large miners, and on chain quantification teams may have used stablecoins such as USDT for large-scale fund flows, and there may be stricter investigations and enforcement in the future. Large scale fund transactions with overseas exchanges may attract regulatory attention, and it is recommended to avoid using opaque methods of fund flow. three ️⃣ Summary and Suggestions For cryptocurrency enthusiasts in mainland China, the latest statement from the Supreme People's Procuratorate signifies a further escalation of criminal risks, especially for those involved in cross-border, high-frequency, or large-scale transactions. Suggestion: 1) Strictly review counterparties and avoid exposure to funds of unknown origin; Avoid large OTC transactions, frequent USDT deposits and withdrawals, especially trading with strangers. 2) Maintain complete transaction records and proof of fund flow; 3) Avoid participating in any form of cross-border asset transfer or underground banking operations; 4) Pay attention to policy developments and adjust investment strategies in a timely manner to avoid legal risks. Finally, it is important to be highly cautious and act low-key, as if walking on thin ice. Be extremely careful and always remember the potential risks. China is currently experiencing a shortage of money, so do not become a sacrificial lamb!