China jails Sifang operators over $428M USDT gambling network

Chinese courts have sentenced five Sifang payment platform operators to between three and six years in prison over a gambling network that processed more than 2.95 billion yuan, or about $428 million, through USDT, bank cards and third-party payment accounts. Summary Chinese courts sentenced five Sifang operators to between three and six years. The network processed about $428 million through USDT, bank cards and payment accounts. Investigators used Tether wallet data and OKX records to trace crypto transactions. The Paper reported that the Intermediate People’s Court of Xilin Gol League in Inner Mongolia upheld Ma’s conviction for illegal business operations on June 26, leaving his four-and-a-half-year prison term and 3 million yuan fine in place. Ma’s case was the last judgment in a group of prosecutions linked to Sifang, a fourth-party payment operation that supplied payment channels to online gambling businesses. The court also ordered authorities to recover 2.95 million yuan in illegal income from Ma. Court records cited by The Paper showed that Ma and four other defendants processed illegal payments between May 24, 2022, and Oct. 18, 2023. The operation moved funds through 10...