Haiphong Police Warn of Risks: USDT Used for Cross-Border Asset Hiding
Cryptocurrencies are increasingly becoming underground tools for criminals to launder money and transfer illicit proceeds. The Criminal Investigation Department of the Haiphong City Police in Vietnam recently issued a warning: crypto assets—represented primarily by USDT—are being frequently exploited to convert, conceal, and transfer funds from online gambling, telecom fraud, and other illegal activities. Due to features like rapid cross-border transfers and frequent splitting across multiple wallet addresses, these activities pose immense challenges to asset recovery and criminal investigation.
Addressing unauthorized USDT transactions that lack regulatory approval, Senior Lieutenant Colonel Bui Trung Thanh, Deputy Director of the Haiphong City Police, along with police teams, highlighted key risks and proposed central control measures:
I. Core Risks of Crypto Asset Exploitation
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Rapid Money Laundering: Illicit funds can be instantly converted into USDT and rapidly shuffled through multiple anonymous wallet addresses.
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Immense Tracking Obstacles: The cross-border nature and multi-layered hopping of on-chain transactions drastically increase the difficulty of identifying true fund origins, tracking flows, and seizing assets.
II. Compliance and Prevention Red Lines for the Public
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Strictly Ban Account Renting/Lending: Never rent or lend personal bank accounts or crypto wallets.
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Refuse Third-Party Collections/Payments: Never assist others in receiving, paying, buying, or selling USDT without knowing the clear origin and legitimate purpose of the funds.
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Guard Against Abnormal Transactions: Stay highly vigilant against unusually large, high-frequency, or multi-intermediary fund transfer requests.
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Understand Legal Consequences: Conducting transactions with crime-linked funds under one’s own name exposes the account holder to severe criminal and legal liabilities.
III. Four Key Measures for Regulation and Enforcement
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Strengthen Transaction Controls: Reinforce day-to-day oversight of crypto trading and exchange activities, while cracking down heavily on illegal operations.
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Implement Identity Verification: Push for rigorous Identity Verification (KYC) for all transaction participants.
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Enhance Tracking Capabilities: Boost technical and investigative capabilities to track on-chain and off-chain fund flows.
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Sever Laundering Chains: Firmly prevent crypto assets from becoming a “safe haven” for concealing and laundering criminal proceeds.