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Chinese courts jail five Sifang operators over $428 million USDT-linked gambling payments

Chinese courts jail five Sifang operators over $428 million USDT-linked gambling payments

Inner Mongolia judges upheld one conviction in the final case tied to an unlicensed fourth-party payment network that routed 2.95 billion yuan through USDT, bank cards and third-party accounts.

USDT

Fact Check
The claim is corroborated by a primary Chinese news source (澎湃新闻/The Paper) and multiple independent outlets. All confirm the core facts: an Inner Mongolia (Xilingol League Intermediate) court upheld the final conviction (Ma's) in June 2026; five operators of unlicensed fourth-party (四方支付/Sifang) payment platforms were jailed 3–6 years for illegal business operations; 2.95 billion yuan (~$428M) was routed through USDT, bank cards and third-party accounts via 105 merchants across 10 payment companies for offshore gambling (May 2022–Oct 2023); and investigators used Tether wallet and OKX records. The only nuance is that '$428M' refers to the total settlement (2.95bn yuan), while the illegal profit was ~42.85M yuan — consistent with the sources rather than contradicting them.
Summary

Chinese courts sentenced five operators tied to the Sifang payment platform to prison terms of three to six years in a gambling-related case involving more than 2.95 billion yuan, or about $428 million, moved through USDT, bank cards and third-party payment accounts. The Intermediate People’s Court of Xilin Gol League in Inner Mongolia upheld Ma’s conviction for illegal business operations on June 26, leaving in place a four-and-a-half-year prison term, a 3 million yuan fine and an order to recover 2.95 million yuan in illegal income. Court records cited by The Paper said the defendants processed illegal payments from May 24, 2022, to Oct. 18, 2023, using 105 merchant accounts linked to 10 third-party payment companies. Prosecutors treated the activity as unlicensed payment settlement work for online gambling businesses. Investigators traced parts of the crypto flows using Tether wallet data and OKX records, highlighting how blockchain evidence can support criminal cases even as Chinese legal scholars debate standards for identifying wallet owners, collecting cross-border data and handling crypto-related money laundering evidence.

Terms & Concepts
  • USDT: A dollar-pegged stablecoin issued by Tether.
  • fourth-party payment network: An aggregator that connects merchants to multiple payment channels.
  • stablecoin: A crypto token designed to track a reference asset.