DOJ Seizes Xinbi Telegram Channels in Crypto Scam Crackdown

TLDR

• US authorities restrained more than $52 million in crypto tied to Xinbi Guarantee, a Chinese-language scam marketplace run on Telegram.
• The DOJ’s Scam Center Strike Force seized two wallets holding about $12 million and sought restraints on 47 more wallets.
• The Treasury Department sanctioned Xinbi along with two tech firms, SafeW Technology and Anwen Technology, for supporting the network.
• Treasury says Xinbi has processed over $24 billion in crypto and fiat since 2022, used in part by North Korean hackers.
• The action follows UK sanctions on Xinbi and comes alongside a Strike Force operation that shut down 13 scam compounds in Madagascar.

United States authorities restrained more than $52 million in cryptocurrency connected to Xinbi Guarantee this week. The action targeted a Chinese-language marketplace that operated through Telegram.

The Department of Justice’s Scam Center Strike Force led the seizure. Officials said Xinbi allowed vendors to sell services to scam center operators.

Those services included building fake investment websites, laundering stolen funds, and recruiting workers for scam compounds in Southeast Asia. Vendors posted their offerings directly in the Telegram channel.

The Strike Force seized two wallets that Xinbi used to collect vendor payments. Those wallets held about $12 million combined.

Law enforcement also sought restraints on 47 additional wallets linked to the laundering network. In total, more than $52 million in crypto was restrained in one day.

A federal court in Washington authorized the seizure of the Telegram channels on September 7. The DOJ credited stablecoin issuer Tether for helping with the investigation.

Treasury Sanctions Xinbi and Its Tech Partners

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Xinbi as a transnational criminal organization on the same day. Two other firms were also sanctioned for supporting the platform.

Singapore-based SafeW Technology and Cambodia-based Anwen Technology were named for providing technology and financial support. Treasury said Xinbi moved its networks to SafeW’s encrypted messaging app around June 2025 as law enforcement attention grew.

Anwen allegedly built XinbiPay, also called NewPay. This is a crypto wallet and payment app used across the marketplace.

TRM Labs Global Head of Policy Ari Redbord told Cointelegraph that Xinbi filled a gap left by another platform’s shutdown. He said Xinbi became the main escrow and cash-out service for scam compounds in Southeast Asia, moving more than $36 billion.

Treasury said Xinbi has processed over $24 billion in crypto and fiat since around 2022. The department said the platform has been used by North Korean hackers and groups tied to the sanctioned Prince Group.

The sanctions block Xinbi’s property in the US. They also stop US persons from doing business with the three designated entities.

Global Crackdown Expands Beyond the US

This is not the first government to target Xinbi. The UK sanctioned the platform in March, freezing UK assets connected to it.

Those UK sanctions also barred Xinbi from the country’s financial, trade, and travel networks. The US action adds to that pressure.

Separately, the Strike Force sent a team to Madagascar for two weeks. They assisted local authorities in shutting down 13 scam centers run by Chinese organized crime groups.

The team helped process more than 3,200 electronic devices during the operation. Investigators also interviewed nearly 400 people arrested in the raids.

About 30 of those arrested were identified as Chinese leaders of the scam compounds. They were repatriated to China following the operation.

The Strike Force said the total amount of crypto it has restrained since launching in November 2025 now stands at about $938 million.

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