The People's Bank of China and public security authorities jointly cracked a series of new underground banking cases involving virtual-currency laundering. The groups promoted free credit-card repayment services, recruited agents across multiple provinces and persuaded people to provide identity and credit-card information. Those accounts were used to route funds for overseas online gambling and telecommunications fraud groups. Investigators said fictitious consumer transactions were used to credit the funds before coin dealers converted it into virtual currency and transferred it to designated overseas addresses. The People's Bank of China Digital Currency Research Institute used large-model technology and an on-chain analysis system to identify nearly 1,000 related accounts, helping police conduct coordinated raids in several locations. Authorities dismantled more than 10 money-laundering and money-mule sites, seized about 130 million yuan in illicit proceeds and sentenced multiple members on charges including illegal business operations. PANews reported the cases on Sept. 10, citing CCTV Finance.