A criminal gang in Danzhou, Hainan Province, was sentenced for illegally absorbing public deposits amounting to tens of millions by using virtual coin speculation as a bait.

On June 18, the Danzhou Municipal Procuratorate in Hainan Province, China, reported that a criminal gang had recently illegally absorbed more than 10 million yuan in public deposits with the lure of investing in virtual currencies to obtain high returns, a huge amount, and was prosecuted for the crime of illegally absorbing public deposits. After trial by the Danzhou Municipal People’s Court, it was determined that the gang constituted a joint crime of illegally absorbing public deposits, and was sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment and fined. In 2023, the criminal gang conspired to illegally absorb deposits from the public for virtual currency speculation in the form of “contract speculation”, in order to attract more “customers” and cover up people’s eyes, the gang set up relevant communities online and registered companies offline, publicized the “contract speculation” business, and promised “customers” that if they invested funds in the gang for virtual currency trading, they would guarantee a daily rebate of 3% of the investment amount. In just a few months, the gang illegally recruited 32 “customers” totaling more than 10 million yuan to speculate on the virtual currency trading platform.