Chinese police bust underground bank using cryptocurrency for illegal currency conversion

Chinese police have arrested six people for running an illegal currency conversion operation that used cryptocurrency to handle around $296 million. The operation was discovered by the Public Security Bureau of Panshi City, Jilin, and involved an "underground bank" that exploited the anonymity and ease of cross-border transfers offered by crypto. The operation used domestic accounts to receive and transfer funds, and exchanged between the yuan and South Korean won. The service was used by Korean purchasing agents, e-commerce firms, and import/export companies, among others.