US sanctions Xinbi scam marketplace, restrains $52M in crypto

U.S. authorities moved against Xinbi Guarantee and associated vendors in a coordinated enforcement action that restrained over $52 million in cryptocurrency tied to the marketplace. The Justice Department's Scam Center Strike Force said it seized two wallets used to collect vendor payments — together holding roughly $12 million — and sought restraints on 47 additional wallets it believes were part of a money-laundering network.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia authorized the seizure of Telegram channels hosting Xinbi on Sept. 7, according to an unsealed warrant. Prosecutors say vendors used those channels to advertise money-laundering services, custom scam-investment websites and recruitment for scam compounds in Southeast Asia, and the operation is intended to disrupt the communications and financial infrastructure that support industrial-scale scam centers. The DOJ credited stablecoin issuer Tether with assisting the investigation.

In a parallel action, the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Xinbi as a significant transnational criminal organization and sanctioned two technology providers: SafeW Technology, based in Singapore, and Anwen Technology, based in Cambodia. Treasury said Xinbi shifted merchant and money-laundering activity to SafeW's encrypted messaging app around June 2025 as law-enforcement scrutiny increased, while Anwen is accused of developing XinbiPay (also called NewPay), a crypto wallet and payment app used by the marketplace.

Officials cited large volumes of activity linked to Xinbi: Treasury said the platform processed over $24 billion in crypto and fiat since about 2022, largely through Southeast Asia, and that it has been used by North Korean hackers and entities connected to the sanctioned Prince Group. TRM Labs' Global Head of Policy, Ari Redbord, told Cointelegraph that Xinbi became "the go-to escrow and cash-out layer for Southeast Asia’s scam compounds" after the fall of a rival service, moving more than $36 billion. OFAC's designations block Xinbi's U.S. property and generally prohibit U.S. persons from transacting with the named entities.

The U.S. move follows earlier action by the United Kingdom, which on March 26 imposed sanctions aimed at cutting Xinbi off from crypto access and freezing U.K.-connected assets while restricting the platform's access to the country's financial, trade and travel networks.