On September 9, the United States government announced the seizure of more than $52 million in cryptocurrencies linked to the Xinbi Guarantee marketplace and its vendors.

Simultaneously, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added the platform to its sanctions list, labeling it as a significant transnational criminal organization. According to the authorities, Xinbi facilitated the operations of scam centers and assisted in laundering stolen funds.

Details of the Operation

The Treasury's specialized task force targeting scam centers confiscated two cryptocurrency wallets used by Xinbi to collect payments for vendors, containing approximately $12 million.

Law enforcement is also seeking to block an additional 47 wallets that are believed to be involved in money laundering activities associated with the marketplace.

The aforementioned $12 million is part of the total assets seized, which exceeds $52 million. The Department of Justice acknowledged the cooperation of Tether, the issuer of USDT, in the investigation.

On September 7, a federal court in Washington, D.C., authorized the seizure of Telegram channels associated with the platform. Documents from the case revealed that these channels promoted the creation of fake investment websites, money laundering, and recruiting individuals for scam centers in Southeast Asia.

Room where evidence seized by Madagascar authorities from a scam center is stored. Source: U.S. Department of Justice.

Xinbi acted as a guarantor for transactions, holding the buyer's payment until the seller completed the service. Investigators claim to have traced transactions from American victims to specific participants on the platform.

“Scam centers in Southeast Asia steal billions from American victims every year,” stated U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessen.

Two technological partners of Xinbi were also subjected to sanctions:

  • SafeW Technology from Singapore – developer of the SafeW messenger, to which the platform began redirecting vendors and money laundering intermediaries around June 2025;
  • Anwen Technology from Cambodia – developer of the payment app and cryptocurrency wallet XinbiPay, also known as NewPay.

Assets of these organizations in the U.S. and under the control of U.S. persons are subject to blocking, and transactions with them are generally prohibited for American individuals.

How Xinbi Survived Previous Crackdowns

According to the U.S. Treasury, since its emergence around 2022, Xinbi has handled over $24 billion in cryptocurrencies and fiat. The agency claims that following actions against Huione, some of its clients shifted their operations to Xinbi, which offered similar services.

In May 2025, Telegram already blocked channels associated with Xinbi and Huione Guarantee, which was rebranded to Haowang. At that time, the latter announced its cessation of operations.

However, Xinbi quickly reestablished its presence on the messaging platform. A July study by TRM Labs noted a 90% increase in daily receipts.

Experts also found that sellers from Huione transitioned to another platform, Tudou, while retaining the existing wallet infrastructure.

On March 26, 2026, the United Kingdom imposed sanctions against Xinbi, linking the marketplace to the sale of stolen personal data and equipment for scam centers.

Connections between such platforms and North Korean hackers have also been a subject of research by RUSI, which described funds flowing from the WazirX hack to addresses associated with Xinbi and Huione Guarantee.

It is worth noting that in June, the U.S. Department of Justice seized a cloud account belonging to Huione Group structures.