Original author: Mankiw Brand Department

"In Guangdong, especially Shenzhen, some seemingly ordinary part-time jobs are creating criminal suspects in large numbers." This is a warning posted recently on the Xiaohongshu platform by Deng Xiaoyu, a partner at Mankiw (Shenzhen) Law Firm . In the post, he pointed out that these part-time jobs, which are ostensibly for "exchanging cash for cryptocurrency" or "running errands for cryptocurrency exchange offline," have formed a highly standardized "hunting mechanism," and those targeted are often highly educated young people with insufficient risk awareness.

In these tasks, part-time workers typically only need to follow instructions to exchange funds for Hong Kong dollars and then go to a designated OTC cryptocurrency exchange to complete the transaction. What seems like a simple "errand" actually completes a crucial link in money laundering crimes—"human cross-border transport." Once the funds are identified as illegal proceeds, participants may be directly exposed to criminal risks.

Lawyer Deng Xiaoyu believes that in recent years, this type of "low-threshold, high-return" part-time job model has been systematically used by criminals for money laundering activities. Many participants have already crossed the line into criminal law without realizing the nature of their actions.

Based on the above judgment, lawyers Deng Xiaoyu (partner at Mankiw LLP, specializing in criminal cases involving crypto assets) and Huang Wenjing (compliance consultant at Mankiw LLP) recently accepted an interview with Shenzhen News Network . Starting from real cases, they systematically dissected the relevant criminal patterns, social harms, and legal risks, attempting to "cut" open this hidden and complex money laundering network so that more people can see the legal truth behind it.

Why would someone who "just helped exchange currency" be suspected of money laundering?

Shenzhen News Network reporter:

Attorney Deng Xiaoyu, in the cases you've recently handled, how do criminal gangs typically recruit young people under the guise of "part-time jobs"?

Deng Xiaoyu:

We recently handled a typical case like this: A college student from mainland China received a "delivery job" on a second-hand goods trading platform . The other party asked him to go to Hong Kong to purchase a certain amount of Tether (USDT) through a local cryptocurrency exchange (OTC store) and transfer it to a designated blockchain address.

The specific process is as follows: Part-time workers first use their own bank cards to receive RMB, then exchange it for HKD cash at a mainland currency exchange point, and then go to a designated Hong Kong OTC store to purchase USDT, with the store directly transferring the cryptocurrency to a designated wallet.

After purchasing tens of thousands of RMB worth of USDT through the aforementioned method, the student's bank card and WeChat Pay account were frozen by mainland law enforcement authorities , and the student was informed that the funds received originated from a transfer by a victim in an upstream fraud case.

Afterwards, we collaborated with a professional on-chain technology team to analyze the case and confirmed that it was a typical "card-to-U" money laundering scheme , and that it was linked to an organized crime network in Southeast Asia.

Following this, we received numerous similar inquiries. Some participants have been placed under investigation for crimes such as fraud, concealing or covering up the proceeds of crime, and aiding and abetting cybercrime; others, though not criminally detained, have had their bank cards and payment accounts frozen for extended periods, severely impacting their daily lives, studies, and work.

Shenzhen News Network reporter:

Consultant Huang Wenjing: Why do criminal gangs frequently choose Hong Kong cryptocurrency exchange shops (OTC stores) as their operational nodes? Is this model more difficult to track?

Huang Wenjing:

From a practical perspective, there are three main reasons why OTC stores in Hong Kong are easily exploited by criminal gangs.

First, the regulatory boundaries are relatively vague, and anti-money laundering requirements are inconsistent.

Currently, Hong Kong has a relatively mature licensing and regulatory system for centralized virtual asset trading platforms. However, cryptocurrency OTC exchanges remain in a regulatory gray area, with diverse types of entities and varying compliance standards. Some exchanges have significant shortcomings in verifying the source of funds, monitoring transactions, and analyzing anomalies, leaving room for black market operations.

Second, cash transactions are inherently high-risk scenarios.

OTC stores primarily rely on cash transactions. Since bearer cash transactions lack the account links and structured data found in bank transfers, investigations often require greater reliance on physical surveillance, personal testimonies, and physical evidence, making overall tracing more difficult.

Third, frequent financial activities provide more room for concealment.

The Hong Kong government also mentioned in its 2024 VAOTC consultation background that in some fraud cases, OTC stores were used for the first round of laundering of illicit funds. As an international financial center, Hong Kong's multi-currency circulation and active cross-border transactions make it easier for criminal gangs to disguise transaction backgrounds and conceal the true purpose of funds.

The dual loss to individuals and society: criminal risks masked by the "legitimate narrative"

Shenzhen News Network reporter:

Attorney Deng Xiaoyu, in many of the cases you've handled, the so-called "part-time workers" are highly educated young people . Why are they so easily trapped in these kinds of schemes? Once involved, what legal consequences might they face? And what long-term impacts might they experience?

Deng Xiaoyu:

In my opinion, the reason why these part-time jobs can deceive highly educated people is that the other party has constructed a seemingly complete, reasonable and legal narrative .

When part-time staff raise questions, such as "Why must the client travel to Hong Kong to operate the transaction?", they typically explain that virtual asset trading is restricted in mainland China but legal and open in Hong Kong; and that for the client located elsewhere, traveling to Hong Kong would be too costly, so having a nearby part-time staff member operate the transaction is more "economical and efficient." Under this self-consistent explanation, many students fail to detect anything amiss at a rational level, thus lowering their guard and developing trust.

However, criminal risks often have a significant lag . Many part-time workers only discover their bank cards and payment app accounts have been frozen, or they suddenly receive calls from the police, or are even intercepted by customs during normal entry and exit procedures, two or three months after the incident. This sudden change often plunges students, who lack social experience, into intense panic, causing a lasting impact on their mental state and normal studies and life.

Shenzhen News Network reporter:

The general public may not be aware of how such part-time jobs, if involved in money laundering, contribute to the black and gray industries, and what impact they have on financial regulatory order and the anti-money laundering system.

Huang Wenjing:

Taking telecommunications and online fraud crimes, which the country has focused on cracking down on in recent years, as an example, "cheating money" is only the first step. The real key lies in how to quickly transfer and conceal the destination of funds, making them difficult to recover.

If the funds involved in the case remained solely in the criminals' accounts, tracing and freezing them would not be difficult once the victims reported the crime. However, through the methods involved in this case, the funds were rapidly split and circulated across multiple financial systems involving "multiple assets, multiple links, and multiple nodes," ultimately creating a vicious cycle of "faster fraud, faster transfer, and harder recovery." These part-time jobs essentially provide crucial funding channels for the black and gray markets, directly driving the scale and industrialization of upstream crimes.

From a broader perspective, money laundering transactions are often characterized by fragmentation, decentralization, and high frequency, significantly increasing the compliance costs for regulatory authorities and financial institutions. If the proportion of such non-genuine and irregular economic activities continues to rise in a region's financial system, it will not only distort financial data but also pose a threat to overall financial security.

Once this risk gains international attention, the region may be labeled a "high-risk jurisdiction." For example, some countries and regions have been placed on the FATF's grey list due to inadequate anti-money laundering regulations. Their citizens will face real difficulties such as restrictions on opening accounts and transaction disruptions in cross-border financial activities, causing long-term and far-reaching negative impacts on national reputation and economic development.

Characterization and Consequences: The Logic of Money Laundering Identification and Sentencing Boundaries

Shenzhen News Network reporter:

Attorney Deng Xiaoyu, why did you post on social media specifically to warn the public about such money laundering traps? From the perspective of criminal law and judicial interpretations, how are these kinds of behaviors usually classified? And how should we distinguish between "personal occasional transactions" and "commercial exchange activities"?

Deng Xiaoyu:

My posting on social media platforms is partly based on my legal education responsibilities as a member of the Shenzhen Lawyers Association's Common Crimes Defense Committee , and partly in my hope to protect young people in society as much as possible .

In the cases we've encountered, many part-time workers initially hoped to supplement their income and ease their family's burden through their work. However, it is precisely this innocent intention that makes them vulnerable to exploitation by criminals , leading them to become involved in specific stages of money laundering activities.

In judicial practice, the actions of such part-time workers are more often included in the evaluation system for money laundering crimes. Individuals who simply follow instructions to exchange or transfer funds should generally not be directly identified as committing the crime of "illegal business operations." Instead, the focus should be on examining whether they objectively participated in the transfer, concealment, or hiding of illegal proceeds.

The key difference between "personal occasional transactions" and "commercial exchange activities" lies not in whether remuneration is received, but in whether they possess continuity, organization, and external business attributes . Ordinary part-time workers who do not solicit clients or establish a stable transaction model typically do not meet the elements of the crime of illegal business operations, but this does not mean they are without criminal risk.

Shenzhen News Network reporter:

Consultant Huang Wenjing: If the amount involved in a case reaches the level of "particularly serious circumstances," what penalties might the relevant personnel face? What are the differences in accountability between corporate crimes and individual crimes?

Huang Wenjing:

Taking money laundering as an example, according to the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China and the Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Money Laundering, once it is determined to be "serious," the sentencing will usually go directly to the second level, namely imprisonment for not less than five years but not more than ten years, and a fine.

It is important to emphasize that in judicial practice, the amount involved is only one of the thresholds for conviction and sentencing. Whether a case constitutes "serious circumstances" requires a comprehensive judgment based on behavioral and outcome factors such as multiple offenses, significant losses caused, and refusal to cooperate in recovering the embezzled funds. A conclusion cannot be drawn simply based on the amount of money involved.

Furthermore, money laundering is subject to a "dual penalty system." This means that if the act is carried out in the name of an organization, the organization itself will be fined; however, the directly responsible supervisors and other directly responsible personnel will not be exempted from liability simply because the act was "done under the organization's name," and will still bear individual criminal responsibility according to the standards for money laundering. If the circumstances are deemed aggravating, they may also face imprisonment of five to ten years and a fine.

Risk warning: How to avoid becoming a "money laundering front"?

Shenzhen News Network reporter:

How can the public identify money laundering risks in part-time jobs? What self-protection measures should be taken if suspicious transactions are encountered?

Huang Wenjing:

In fact, identifying this type of risk only requires grasping one core judgment:

Any part-time job that asks you to help with money transactions or account operations is essentially turning you into a money transfer channel; 99% of them are scams or money laundering schemes.

In practice, common "danger signals" include:

You will be asked to provide or open a new bank card or corporate account;
Lend out WeChat and Alipay QR codes for receiving payments, and immediately transfer the money out after receiving and making payments on behalf of the recipient;
They require you to withdraw cash offline, or go to an exchange shop to exchange cash for virtual currency and then transfer it to a designated address;
They repeatedly emphasized that "buying and selling virtual currency with cash is legal in Hong Kong," "the physical stores are all open, so it's impossible for them to break the law," and "it's just helping out with an errand."

The common thread in these rhetoric is their deliberate attempt to divert attention. The real risk lies not in the legality of a particular operation in form, but in their aim to conceal the true source and flow of funds .

If the funds originate from upstream crimes such as telecom fraud or gambling, your account and identity may be considered part of the criminal chain. At best, your account may be frozen and investigated; at worst, you may be held criminally liable due to the seriousness of the offense.

Shenzhen News Network reporter:

Attorney Deng Xiaoyu, what more targeted advice do you have for young people? Should they be wary of seemingly legal temptations such as "currency arbitrage"?

Deng Xiaoyu:

I would like to give young people a special reminder:

Any part-time job that treats you as a "financial conduit," no matter how "legal and compliant" it may seem, should be rejected immediately.

Many people think money laundering is far removed from their lives, but in reality, it is often disguised as "errand running," "cross-border settlement," "spread or exchange rate arbitrage," or "crypto trading"—all of which sound professional or even reasonable. Essentially, they all involve getting you to use your real name to facilitate the transfer of funds to strangers.

In the cases we've handled, what the perpetrators really value isn't the part-time worker's "labor," but rather their real-name accounts and the transaction traces created by their operations to conceal the proceeds of crime. Once the upstream funds are traced, the original "part-time worker" could instantly become a "person involved in the case," with the most direct consequences being frozen accounts and restrictions on their livelihood. In serious cases, they may also face corresponding legal liabilities.

Attorney Mankiw warns: Be alert to these high-risk signals

Based on the interview content and practical experience, we would like to offer the following advice:

Be highly vigilant when considering part-time jobs involving collection and payment on behalf of others, cash handover, account operations, or cryptocurrency exchange .
A mismatch between compensation and job content is often not a "good opportunity";
The other party's deliberate avoidance of the issue of the source of funds is an important risk signal;
If you have any doubts, the sooner you consult a professional lawyer, the more likely you are to avoid serious consequences .

We will continue to participate in public discussions from a professional perspective , and we hope to help the public better understand legal boundaries and stay away from potential criminal risks through real cases and legal analysis.

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