ChainCatcher news, according to Workers' Daily reports, the People's Court of Changping District, Beijing recently released a case where an employee used their position to obtain virtual currency for profit, constituting the crime of illegally obtaining data from a computer information system. Zhang, a blockchain engineer at a certain internet company, learned that there was a large amount of Ethereum in the account while participating in project development, and planned to attack the company's account to obtain it.Taking advantage of his work, he asked colleagues for program codes and private keys beyond his authority and shared them in a "technical exchange group," inviting group members to crack and attack the company's account, successfully obtaining 106.15 Ethereum and illegally profiting 38,329.76 yuan.The court found that Zhang violated regulations by illegally obtaining Ethereum information from the company's computer system and trading for profit, constituting the crime of illegally obtaining data from a computer information system. Although there were management loopholes in the company, this was not a valid excuse for Zhang's crime. Ultimately, Zhang was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in prison, fined 60,000 yuan, and ordered to return the illegal gains of 38,329.76 yuan. The second-instance ruling rejected the appeal and upheld the original judgment.

ChainCatcher news, the Shanghai High People's Court published an article stating that the Songjiang District People's Court of Shanghai has concluded a dispute case regarding the validity of a virtual currency issuance financing service contract. The court believes that token issuance financing is an illegal public financing behavior, and the "Blockchain Incubation Agreement" involved in the case is invalid.The article points out that virtual currency, as a type of virtual commodity, has property value and is not prohibited by law. Although there are no explicit regulations on virtual currency in Chinese law, regulations issued by the People's Bank of China and other departments have regulated activities related to virtual currency.Therefore, although individuals holding virtual currency purely is not illegal, commercial entities cannot arbitrarily participate in virtual currency investment transactions or issue tokens on their own. Once they touch upon the bottom line of civil and criminal legal principles and rules in their trading activities, they may suffer losses or, in serious cases, be suspected of committing a crime.

ChainCatcher news, according to Hong Wang reports, the People's Court of Jiahe County, Hunan Province recently made a ruling on a major dispute over a mining machine transaction. The case shows that the plaintiff, Pan Mouxiang, communicated with the defendant, Lei Moucai, via WeChat in November 2021 to purchase Bitcoin mining machines S19XP. After paying 23.678 million USDT, the two parties had a disagreement over the nature of the contract and the settlement price. The plaintiff requested the defendant to return the price difference of 6.27 million USDT and continue to deliver 149 mining machines.The court ruled to dismiss all of the plaintiff's claims based on two main reasons: first, according to the central bank and other departments' "Notice on Further Preventing and Dealing with Risks of Virtual Currency Trading and Speculation," USDT and other virtual currencies do not have the status of legal tender, and related transactions are considered illegal financial activities.Secondly, based on the National Development and Reform Commission's "Notice on Rectifying Virtual Currency 'Mining' Activities," the energy consumption of mining activities is high, carbon emissions are significant, and economic contributions are low, which does not align with the national green development strategy. The court determined that the transaction contract was invalid due to violations of laws and regulations as well as public order and good customs, and the related losses would be borne by both parties.

According to ChainCatcher news and the China Court website, the People's Court of Xiangyin County, Hunan Province, recently heard a case involving the repayment of a loan with virtual currency. The court ruled that virtual currency does not have the same legal status and enforceability as legal tender, and the borrower's use of virtual currency to repay the debt is invalid.The case shows that the debtor, Wang, used virtual currency to repay a debt of 20,000 yuan through the "TR Foreign Currency Platform," which was later identified by public security authorities as being involved in virtual currency network pyramid schemes. The court cited the notice issued by the central bank and ten other departments in September 2021, titled "Notice on Further Preventing and Handling Risks of Speculation in Virtual Currency Transactions," and determined that the repayment behavior violated financial management order.The court emphasized that any legal person, non-legal person organization, or natural person investing in virtual currency and related derivatives in violation of public order and good customs will have their related civil legal acts deemed invalid, and any resulting losses must be borne by themselves. The final judgment of this case requires the debtor to fulfill the repayment obligation in legal tender.

ChainCatcher news, the Tongcheng City Anti-Fraud Center received a tip-off indicating that there was a large suspicious fund transaction related to fraud in the area. It is reported that the victim, Ms. Hu, met a "rich and handsome" boyfriend named Zhang online, who claimed to be working in virtual currency investment abroad, and asked her to prepare cash to hand over to a "client manager." Fortunately, the police of Tongcheng City discovered and successfully intercepted the situation in time. Upon investigation, the so-called "client manager" was actually a "cash handler" recruited by an overseas fraud group. Currently, the suspect has been criminally detained in accordance with the law for suspected fraud, and the 730,000 yuan defrauded funds have all been returned to the victim. The case is under further investigation. (Anqing Voice WeChat Official Account)

According to ChainCatcher news, as shown on the official account of the Yunnan Provincial People's Procuratorate, recently, the Shidian County Procuratorate prosecuted a case involving Li and 10 others for organizing and leading pyramid selling activities. After court hearings, Li and the other 10 defendants were sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment ranging from six years to two years for the crime of organizing and leading pyramid selling activities, and were fined between 500,000 and 100,000 RMB.Since May 2021, Li has successively gathered Huang, Jin, and others, using "blockchain" and "virtual currency" as a gimmick to seek illegal profits. They set up five capital pools on an online platform under the pretext of purchasing and holding virtual digital currency A and issuing virtual digital currencies B and C. Through a combination of offline meetings and online WeChat groups, they created a successful persona, leveraged special professional backgrounds, and promoted slogans such as "one coin, one mansion; one coin, one luxury car" and "earn hundreds of thousands to millions easily in a day," widely publicizing reward systems and profit prospects. They deceived the public into obtaining membership qualifications through purchasing, destroying, and adding to the capital pools, and completing assigned tasks to receive static dividends and dynamic earnings based on the number of people developed and investment amounts, forming five levels of rebates.According to the appraisal, the pyramid selling funds collected by Li and others through the online platform amounted to over 210 million RMB. The Shidian County Procuratorate reviewed the case and found that Li used virtual currency as a gimmick, colluding with the other nine defendants to defraud property through the online platform, disrupting the economic and social order. The total pyramid selling funds exceeded 210 million RMB, and the circumstances were serious. The actions of Li and the other ten violated the provisions of Article 224-1 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, constituting the crime of organizing and leading pyramid selling activities. After court hearings, the above judgment was made.

According to ChainCatcher news, as reported by the Guangming Daily, the Ministry of State Security announced a case on November 8: Wang XX, a former public official at a sensitive unit, was considered a good young man by his unit and family. However, due to losses in virtual currency investments, he incurred huge debts and was lured and incited by foreign espionage intelligence agencies, gradually leading him down the path of crime.Through investigations by the national security agency, it was discovered that Wang XX provided top-secret and confidential national secrets to the other party, obtaining espionage funds equivalent to over 1 million yuan through methods such as virtual currency recharge and trading. Ultimately, Wang XX was sentenced to life imprisonment for espionage by the people's court, with lifelong deprivation of political rights.The unit where Wang XX worked did not strictly implement confidentiality management systems and protective measures, providing an opportunity for Wang XX to steal and supply secrets to foreign espionage intelligence agencies. The national security agency, in conjunction with relevant departments, will carry out joint law enforcement work on Wang XX's unit and order it to rectify within a specified time.

ChainCatcher news, according to the Legal Daily report, a man named Deng Gang (pseudonym) was entrusted by his nephew Deng Dawei (pseudonym) to go to a designated location to collect virtual currency transaction payments, but he was threatened with a knife by the buyer Wang Qiang (pseudonym). Deng Gang was forced to notify Deng Dawei to transfer over 40,000 virtual coins to the other party. So, does the behavior of the suspect Wang Qiang constitute extortion or robbery?On November 4, a reporter from Legal Weekend learned from the People's Procuratorate of Jianghan District, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, that the defendant Wang Qiang was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison for extortion and concealing or disguising criminal proceeds in the first instance. After the Jianghan District Procuratorate filed a protest with the higher court, the second-instance court accepted the prosecution's opinion and determined that Wang Qiang constituted robbery. For his robbery and concealing or disguising criminal proceeds, the court decided to impose a combined sentence of eleven years and six months in prison, along with a fine; this judgment is final.

ChainCatcher news, according to a report by Poster News, on November 6, the police in Leshan, Sichuan disclosed a case of illegal operation, dismantling a major cross-regional underground bank crime network involving 13 provinces across the country, with an amount involved exceeding 38 billion yuan. Recently, the Leshan Intermediate People's Court made a ruling, sentencing three defendants to fixed-term imprisonment ranging from two years and six months to thirteen years and six months for the crimes of illegal operation and issuing false value-added tax invoices.It is reported that the case involved virtual currency transactions and cross-border fund transfers, with the operational information being complex and mixed, amounting to over 20 million pieces of data. According to the police officers in the special case team, a total of 37 cases have been filed by public security organs nationwide, and 176 criminal suspects have been arrested, successfully dismantling this major cross-regional underground bank crime network involving 13 provinces and an amount exceeding 38 billion yuan. Currently, relevant cases are being further investigated and tried in various places. Among them, the principal offender in this case has been sentenced to thirteen years and six months of fixed-term imprisonment by the Leshan Intermediate People's Court.

ChainCatcher news, the Shaanxi High Court has released typical cases of cracking down on illegal fundraising crimes, which pointed out that the defendants Shi and Zhu set up an office in Xi'an, using a self-built BRTR platform to issue and trade USDT, QC, and BRTR currencies. They boasted about their company's strength to the public, fabricated a bright prospect for investing in virtual currencies, and used guaranteed principal with high interest and the enjoyment of luxury car usage rights as bait to attract public investment. According to the audit, as of the occurrence of the case, a total of 114 fundraising participants reported the case, with a total fundraising amount of over 6.34 million yuan, of which over 5.16 million yuan has been returned.The court held that the defendants, by issuing and trading virtual currencies, disguised their actions as public fundraising, disrupting the financial order. Their actions constituted the crime of illegally absorbing public deposits, and they were sentenced to four years in prison and fined.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Paper, the Jingde Court in Zhejiang recently concluded a contract dispute case regarding the sale of virtual currency mining machines. In April 2021, the plaintiff, Mr. Hang, purchased a "mining machine" platform and 64 hard drives from the defendant, Mr. Chen, for a total value of 429,000 yuan. After paying the full amount, Mr. Chen failed to deliver the equipment as agreed and only refunded 180,000 yuan.The court cited the National Development and Reform Commission's "Notice on Rectifying Virtual Currency 'Mining' Activities" issued in September 2021, as well as the central bank and other departments' "Notice on Further Preventing and Handling Risks of Virtual Currency Trading Speculation," determining that activities related to virtual currency are illegal financial activities. The court ruled that the contract for the sale of the mining machines was invalid due to violation of public order and good customs, and ordered the defendant to return the remaining 249,000 yuan.The second-instance court upheld the original ruling, stating that the relevant contract not only violated public order and good customs but also did not conform to the basic principles of resource conservation and environmental protection.

ChainCatcher news, according to CCTV News, the prosecution has found that in recent years, as the efforts to punish pyramid scheme crimes in accordance with the law have intensified, some criminals have shifted their pyramid schemes from offline to online to evade regulation and crackdown. From January to September 2024, national procuratorial organs prosecuted 4,627 people for organizing and leading pyramid scheme activities. Lawbreakers have exploited the virtuality and convenience of the internet to concoct various "get-rich-quick scams" that are difficult to distinguish between true and false, luring the public to participate.Some have engaged in online pyramid schemes by leveraging new concepts and social hotspots such as virtual currency, blockchain, financial innovation, and charitable mutual assistance. For example, in the case involving Sheng and others, they fabricated a "Google Coin" blockchain project purportedly from Google, publicly promoting and hyping it through online media, and soliciting purchases of "Google Coin" using ETH (Ethereum) as the settlement currency, ultimately developing over 60,000 members and illegally profiting more than 20 million yuan.The procuratorial organs remind the public to stay vigilant, not to believe in "get-rich-quick" schemes, not to be greedy for "small profits," and to consciously resist the temptation of seemingly easily obtainable "high returns," in order to avoid falling into the "trap" of online pyramid schemes.

ChainCatcher news, the Chongqing Fifth Intermediate People's Court recently concluded an appeal case involving drug trafficking using a new method of "Internet + virtual currency + logistics mailing."From August 2021 to July 2023, the defendant Zhang contacted drug buyers through WeChat and other means, primarily selling marijuana and "stamps" and other types of drugs. Zhang entrusted the packaged drugs to a dedicated person for safekeeping, and after reaching a transaction intention with the drug buyer, provided the buyer with a virtual currency website. After confirming the receipt of drug funds via virtual currency, Zhang would place an order with a certain express delivery platform, and the drug custodian would deliver the drugs to the buyer through the express platform, while Zhang paid the drug custodian a fee.According to statistics, Zhang placed orders through the express platform and had the drug custodian deliver drugs a total of over 1,600 times; received funds through virtual currency accounts a total of over 1,200 times; and withdrew the received virtual currency to his Alipay, WeChat, and bank cards after multiple transfers, accumulating over 400,000 yuan.The Chongqing Fifth Intermediate Court, after legal review, found that the first-instance sentence of eight years imprisonment and a fine of 100,000 yuan for the defendant Zhang for the crimes of drug trafficking and money laundering was appropriate, and upheld the original judgment.

ChainCatcher news, on October 25, the Ministry of Public Security held a special press conference in Beijing to report on the effectiveness of the measures taken by the national public security organs to combat and rectify ethnic asset unfreezing fraud crimes.Zhou Qiancheng, head of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Ningbo Public Security Bureau in Zhejiang Province, introduced that at the beginning of this year, Ningbo public security organs discovered that local residents were participating in the "China International Plum Blossom Association" ethnic asset unfreezing fraud project. Upon investigation, it was found that the suspects established an illegal organization called "China International Plum Blossom Association" as bait with high pension returns, recruiting participants from all over the country, and collecting fees under the names of "membership fees," "venue fees," "certificate fees," and "personal income tax," using virtual currency to launder money and illegally profit. The involved funds have been confirmed to exceed 58 million yuan.Currently, the case is still under further investigation.

According to ChainCatcher news, as reported by the Justice Network, in order to raise funds, Zhang, who was addicted to trading virtual currencies, turned his attention to his colleagues at work, fabricating reasons to defraud a total of over 1.97 million yuan from 16 colleagues. Recently, the Changzhou Economic Development Zone Prosecutor's Office in Jiangsu Province filed a public prosecution, and the court sentenced the defendant Zhang to eleven years in prison for fraud, along with a fine of 300,000 yuan.During the 2022 FIFA World Cup, while betting on a certain platform, Zhang came into contact with a virtual currency called KK Coin. KK Coin could not only be used to recharge for betting but also to earn profits through buying low and selling high. After investigation, it was determined that from October 2023 to January this year, Zhang fabricated various reasons and repeatedly defrauded 16 colleagues under the pretext of borrowing, totaling over 1.97 million yuan, which was all used for trading virtual currencies on online gambling platforms.Before the incident, Zhang only returned over 37,000 yuan in cash or in kind as repayment. On July 7 of this year, the prosecutor's office filed a public prosecution against Zhang for fraud. Recently, the court made the above-mentioned judgment after hearing the case.