Shanghai busts money laundering by online tipping

Shanghai police said on Monday that they have cracked the first national case in which suspects laundered money by exploiting the tipping function in livestreaming.

Twenty-one suspects were arrested in the case, which involved nearly 100 million yuan ($14.4 million).

It was uncovered as police in Shanghai's Pudong district were looking into a case of fundraising fraud.

While police were tracking the whereabouts of the money last June, they found that a colossal amount had been given as tips to an anchor on a livestreaming platform — and each time the suspect tipped the anchor, money was transferred to his personal bank account by the anchor.

Police later determined that between June 2019 and July 2020, the suspects contacted the anchor surnamed Li and proposed committing the offense in order to transfer and conceal criminal proceeds. Li and other team members were given commissions as a reward.

With full knowledge that the money was the proceeds of a fundraising fraud, Li and his colleagues accepted the money during livestreaming, and laundered the tips for the suspects, police said.

Four suspects, including Li, have been arrested by police on suspicion of money laundering, and the other 17 suspects have been subjected to compulsory criminal measures on suspicion of covering up and withholding money obtained through criminal means.