UK Sanctions $20B Crypto Marketplace Linked to Scam Hubs

Britain’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has sanctioned the Chinese-language crypto marketplace Xinbi, which blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis says processed nearly $20 billion in volume between 2021 and 2025.

The designation means that the UK government isn’t just targeting individual scammers but has taken aim at the financial infrastructure that keeps Southeast Asia’s industrial-scale fraud operations running.

The Platform’s Role in the Scam Supply Chain

According to Chainalysis, Xinbi is a peer-to-peer marketplace, mostly on Telegram, where criminals can buy and sell illegal goods and services with built-in escrow protections. Think of it as an online marketplace, except the vendors are not selling consumer goods. They are selling stolen personal data, money laundering services, scam software, and even satellite internet equipment used to contact fraud victims.

Alongside Xinbi, the FCDO also sanctioned Legend Innovation, the operator of #8 Park, described by the UK government as Cambodia’s largest scam facility with the capacity to accommodate 20,000 trafficked workers, as well as two individuals linked to the Prince Group: Thet Li, described as a key financial lieutenant, and Hu Xiaowei, who allegedly operated under three different aliases.

Per data provided by Chainalysis, the platform processed about $19.9 billion in crypto flows over a four-year period and was tightly linked with other illegal services such as the Huione and Tudou guarantee platforms. Furthermore, the firm reported that Xinbi was actively facilitating scams by giving criminals tutorials and chatbots to help them manipulate victims.

This is not the first time the network has been targeted, with authorities pushing Telegram to close the crypto escrow market’s channels in 2025. However, that action did little to stop it, as it quickly created new communication channels and ensured its website was still accessible. Even on-chain data showed that transaction volume on the platform didn’t drop during Telegram’s takedown action.

Crypto Laundering Networks Are a Growing Menace

Earlier in the year, CryptoPotato reported on how escrow markets like Xinbi sent millions to major crypto exchanges, with the funds coming from online gambling, scams, and large-scale laundering operations. One of the largest, Huione Group, is said to have processed transactions worth more than $24 billion before it was shut down mid-last year.

FCDO’s sanctioning of Xinbi highlights the increasing attempts to fight crypto-enabled fraud by directly targeting the rails and marketplaces that sustain it. The agency’s designation came under its Global Human Rights process, as it accused Xinbi of supporting entities that take part in torture and other human rights abuses within scam centers.

Apart from targeted designations, the UK is using several other measures to try to stop criminals from moving, cashing out, and spending stolen digital assets, including regulations and close law enforcement collaborations. One such joint action saw UK agencies team up with U.S. authorities, including OFAC and FinCEN, to shut down Huione Group and open a $15 billion civil forfeiture case against it.

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