The arrest of Zhao Dong, CEO of the RenrenBit cryptocurrency exchange and trading platform, by the Chinese authorities was recently confirmed, now other OTC traders may be forced to collaborate with the investigations carried out by the authorities.
Local media in the Asian country confirmed the arrest of Zhao Dong, CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange platform RenrenBit and renowned investor in the OTC trades. According to sources, authorities detained Dong because he apparently was involved in illegal activities and hid his illicit profits through these businesses, although the crime is not directly related to the exchange platform.
According to information revealed by the media, local police also detained several RenrenBit employees to investigate the case, although the arrest was not complete. Currently RenrenBit staff are working as normal, indicate the media.
Likewise, local media report that Dong has been collaborating with Chinese authorities since 2019 to clarify several investigations carried out regarding alleged illicit transactions carried out through RenrenBit. For their part, several OTC businesses have been collaborating in authorities' investigations to prevent illegal activities such as corruption, fraud and money laundering from taking place within these platforms.
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Measures implemented by the Chinese authorities
At the beginning of June, the Bit2Me News team reported that the Chinese government froze several of the accounts and banking products of mining miners. cryptocurrencies, and OTC traders, as part of the measures that the Chinese government is taking to prevent the carrying out of mining is. and the use of cryptocurrencies within the territory to hide illegal activities. The Chinese government considers that cryptocurrency miners and users must declare the origin of their funds to determine that they are legal and thus be able to release them.
Initially, the drastic measures were implemented in the province of Sichuan, where the highest percentage of computing power is concentrated (hash rate) of the Bitcoin network. However, by that time, the actions implemented affected miners the most, who saw their assets and funds completely blocked while OTC traders were not as severely affected. It is estimated that at that time OTC traders were collaborating with Chinese authorities in carrying out their investigations against money laundering, corruption and other illicit activities.
Now with Dong's arrest, several OTC traders are worried that the police may arrest them to force them to collaborate in their investigations. According to a source who remains anonymous for security reasons, Dong's arrest is not an isolated case, but rather a systematic effort against free exchange services such as OTC within the nation.
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