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Journalist
Hassan Shittu
Journalist
Hassan Shittu
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In a new verdict, a Chinese court has sentenced nine individuals to prison for masterminding a sprawling telecommunication fraud network that preyed on over 66,800 Indian victims.
The scheme, meticulously crafted and executed between June 2023 and January 2024, stole ₹517 million, roughly $6.2 million, using fabricated investment platforms, manipulated online identities, and the lure of romance.
How a Chinese Fraud Empire Was Destroyed
At the center of the operation was a man identified only by his surname, He, who, according to court documents, rented office space in Heze, Shandong Province, in May 2023 to launch what would become one of the most organized and professionally run scams in recent history.
He recruited a team of fraudsters, leased overseas servers to mask their digital footprint, and acted as the central coordinator between the group and Indian companies.
His main responsibilities included fund supervision and capital laundering through complex crypto conversion routes.
The fraudulent operation ran under the guise of a bogus investment platform called SENEE, which offered suspiciously high monthly returns of 8% to 15% on deposits as low as ₹1,000 (~$12).
Victims were primarily Indian men, approached through popular chat and social media platforms by female personas portrayed as affluent, self-made Indian women with successful investment backgrounds.
To appear legitimate, the scammers fabricated elaborate online personas with geo-tagged photos of Indian cities, curated lifestyle content, and emotionally appealing backstories.
When the deposits exceeded the promised returns, the group swiftly moved to shut down the platform or “convert” the funds into equity, freezing user access and locking away the money.
These proceeds were then laundered through third-party platforms and converted into Tether’s USDT, a stablecoin known for its global liquidity.
The USDT was then swapped into Chinese yuan or U.S. dollars, with the group reportedly taking a 15% cut from each transaction.
The Chinese court described the operation as a “professional criminal syndicate” with clearly defined roles, a profit-sharing system, and advanced operational security.
The sentences ranged from five to nearly fifteen years in prison, accompanied by financial penalties.
Presiding judge Liu Xilei warned of China’s increasing efforts to crack down on telecom and online fraud and urged perpetrators to surrender voluntarily.
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Thailand and Cambodia Linked Cases Reveal Wider Web Amid Cross-Border Crackdowns
This high-profile Chinese-Indian scam appears part of a broader and growing transnational trend, with strikingly similar methods seen in neighboring Southeast Asia.
In March 2024, Thai police arrested two Chinese nationals, Wu Di and her boyfriend, Zhou Zongyon, in a luxury villa in Pattaya, Thailand, for a parallel crypto scam and kidnapping operation.
As a friendly investor posing on Facebook, Wu ran a crypto con that defrauded victims of over 600 million baht ($17.7 million) in just two months.
The scam mimicked the SENEE model, enticing victims with small early payouts before locking larger deposits. One Thai teacher reportedly lost 1.5 million baht after falling into this trap.
Upon Wu’s arrest, officers uncovered images on her phone showcasing lavish living, luxury cars, wads of cash, and even drugs.
Her travel history revealed regular trips between Thailand, Cambodia, and Malaysia.
Wu and Zhou’s arrest wasn’t an isolated event. Just days later, a joint Thailand-China raid busted another crypto fraud operation run by two more Chinese nationals, Ye Wanyou and Li Weijie, living in a luxury apartment in Bangkok.
Acting on intelligence, the Huamark Police Station and the Police Cyber Taskforce (PCT) raided the premises and confiscated $44,550 in initial assets.
The suspects were caught trying to erase their mobile phone data but were stopped in time.
Upon deeper investigation in collaboration with Chinese authorities, they discovered hidden crypto wallets holding 2.5 million USDT, which were promptly frozen.
As crypto adoption rises across Asia, so does its exploitation by organized criminal networks.
These operations stretch across borders, using crypto for both fraud and laundering and often intertwining with human trafficking, identity theft, and cyber manipulation.
And despite the millions recovered and the recent wave of arrests, authorities admit they’ve only scratched the surface of a much larger, murkier web operating across Asia.
