Man Sentenced for Involvement in Unlicensed Cryptocurrency Exchange Operations

According to PANews, a 34-year-old man named Xie Jiajie has been sentenced to 10 months in prison for his role in managing and operating cryptocurrency exchanges without a license. Despite knowing that his employer, Liu Hanquan, was conducting unlicensed currency exchange operations, Xie facilitated 430 transactions totaling over 35 million yuan in just 23 days. He was arrested during a police raid. Xie faced charges under the Payment Services Act and the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act. He pleaded guilty to one charge, while the remaining charges were considered during sentencing on June 26. The case involves Sir Money Changer (SMC), a licensed family business providing currency exchange and cross-border remittance services, managed by the Mohamad couple. In June 2021, SMC expanded its operations in Geylang, where Liu Hanquan offered to pay 14,000 yuan monthly to use the license for independent remittance operations. Liu hired his own staff but used SMC's name to pay for social security contributions, later reimbursing the costs. Starting in September 2021, Liu conducted cross-border remittances and Tether transactions without reporting to the Monetary Authority or submitting transaction records. Following the discovery of his activities, Liu fled to Cambodia and emptied his cryptocurrency wallet. He remains at large.