In recent years, some criminals in China have taken aim at the emerging technology of blockchain and have engaged in illegal activities of online gambling. Recently, the Jianhu police in Yancheng, China successfully cracked the country’s first case of using blockchain contract technology to open a casino, arrested 25 criminal suspects, and seized more than 1.3 million virtual currencies worth more than RMB 26 million.
Clue! Online casino accumulates a large number of participants
EOS.io coin is a digital currency issued by a foreign organization that allows people to build decentralized applications on its public blockchain, called DAPP for short. This emerging field has been targeted by Chinese criminals.
In October 2020, the Jianhu police received clues from the network security detachment of the Yancheng Public Security Bureau stating that there is a gambling application called “Biggame” on the public chain of EOS.io that has been popular in the currency circle, and its transaction volume has long been the highest in the public currency of EOS.io. Top of the daily trading volume on the chain.
According to the Yancheng Public Security Bureau net security detachment branch of the Sheng, the network casino “Biggame” since August 2018 online, quickly accumulated a large number of participants, the average daily betting amount equivalent to more than 10 million yuan, the peak daily active participants up to more than 10,000 people.
Gamblers spend huge sums of money on gambling sites. Where does the money go? Zhi Sheng said that the cross-border online gambling that the public security cracked down in previous years used illegal fourth-party payment platforms to recharge and withdraw money and transfer stolen money through underground banks. As China’s crackdown on cross-border online gambling and underground money houses has gradually deepened, (gambling platforms) have begun to support digital currency recharge to evade supervision and crackdowns. In this case, the gambling platform applied blockchain smart contract technology to every gambling game.
This DAPP does not need to be downloaded. Users can access and log in on the public chain or through various EOS.io wallets, and directly use the EOS coins to place bets. The gameplay includes 5 games: Shangzhuang Niuniu, Red and Black War, Ultimate Texas, Craps and Fruit Machine.
Analysis! Arrest the suspect in four ways
After receiving the clues, the Jianhu police analyzed more than 27 million transaction data and sorted out the 26 contract addresses used for betting, lottery, and prize distribution in various games of the casino, and found a large amount of profit from them. Funds flowed to four suspicious accounts. The Chinese police quickly found a breakthrough from these four collection accounts, and the main criminals of the gang Xie, Liu, Hu and others have surfaced one after another.
Through investigation work, the Jianhu police accurately grasped the basic situation of the criminal gang headed by Liu, and found out the hiding places of the gang in Guangzhou, Shanghai, Chuzhou, Anhui and other places.
In view of the unfavorable factors such as the scattered residences of the criminal suspects in the gang, the wide distribution of personnel, and the difficulty of arrest, the Chinese police have formulated a thorough arrest plan and emergency response measures in advance. In December 2020, the Jianhu police were divided into five groups. After more than a month, they arrested 14 suspects including the principal criminal Liu in Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Chuzhou, Anhui.
Trial! There were more than 73,000 participants in the gambling
After Liu and others were brought back to the case, the Jianhu police conducted a surprise review. They confessed to the crime of opening a virtual casino, explained the process of committing the crime, and withdrew more than 1.3 million existing stolen EOS, BTC and other virtual currencies. The Jianhu police also seized 2 sets of real estate involved in Hu’s name, 1 car and 1 set of real estate involved in Liu’s name based on the suspect’s confession.
It was reported that between June 2018 and December 2020, the suspect Hu Mou urgently needed working capital for the Guangzhou Consensus Network Technology Company he operated. He cooperated with Liu Mou and Xie Mou to organize 11 persons including Yu Mou and Li Mou. Technicians work together in their company and open online casinos through blockchain contract technology. Use virtual currency as a gambling medium to provide an illegal gambling platform for others to make profits from it. The transaction volume amounts to more than 420 million virtual currencies, worth more than RMB 8 billion, and the illegal and criminal proceeds amount to 3.095 million virtual currencies, worth RMB 6000. Ten thousand yuan.
After the breakthrough of the case, the Jianhu police also found through analysis of back-end data that two digital currency exchanges in Shenzhen and Xiamen were providing them with promotion drainage and fund settlement services, and they were drawn from them. The accumulated amount is equivalent to more than 5.4 million yuan.
On January 15 this year, the Jianhu police once again carried out a centralized collection of two criminal gangs suspected of providing conditions for gambling in the special operation “Net Net 2021” of the Ministry of Public Security of China, and arrested 11 suspects. After review, it was found that more than 73,000 people participated in gambling on the platform, the funds involved amounted to 8 billion yuan, and the illegal gains amounted to more than 60 million yuan, involving 17 countries and regions at home and abroad.
The police reminded: In order to effectively purify cyberspace and strengthen the governance of the social security environment, the public security organs will continue to resolutely crackdown on online gambling in accordance with the law. Remind the general public to actively participate in cooperation and promptly report suspicious clues, instead of taking a chance and getting caught up in it, and then go to “rights protection” after losing all gambling funds.
Source: Modern Express