Supreme People's Procuratorate: Using virtual currency as a medium to carry out illegal transactions is illegal financial activity

Recently, the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange jointly released eight typical cases of punishing foreign exchange-related crimes. The person in charge of the Fourth Procuratorate of the Supreme People's Procuratorate said that the cases released this time mainly focus on cross-border illegal foreign exchange trading cases. Cross-border illegal foreign exchange trading is one of the typical manifestations of current illegal foreign exchange trading. In such cases, RMB and foreign currencies generally do not physically flow across the border. On the surface, funds appear to be circulating in one direction at home and abroad. In reality, It is a disguised act of buying and selling foreign exchange that disrupts the order of the foreign exchange market. If the circumstances are serious, it constitutes the crime of illegal business operations. In response to typical cases involving the use of virtual currency as a medium to carry out illegal foreign exchange transactions, the person in charge of the Fourth Procuratorate of the Supreme People's Procuratorate pointed out that in our country, virtual currency does not have the same legal status as legal tender, and related business activities are illegal financial activities. . It said that currently more and more illegal foreign exchange crimes are committed through virtual currency transactions and exchanges. During the handling of the case, the procuratorial organs found that using virtual currency as a trading medium to indirectly realize the currency value conversion of foreign exchange and RMB is an important link in the chain of illegal foreign exchange trading and should be punished in accordance with the law. To guide evidence collection, review and judgment of criminal facts related to virtual currency transactions, it is necessary to be familiar with the technical characteristics of virtual currency transactions in order to improve the quality and efficiency of case handling. (The Paper)