Hong Kong boy kidnapped, ransom demanded in USDT: report

On July 3, a 3-year-old boy was kidnapped from a shopping center in Tseung Kwan O, Hong Kong.

After the incident, the abductors demanded a ransom of 660,000 USDT, roughly HK$5.15 million.

Hong Kong kidnappers demand USDT

The boy’s dad and mom are instruct Obtain the Telegram messaging app and purchase USDT ransom from offline OTC shops. They’re additionally warned to not contact the police to make sure their kids’s security.

The Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB) of the Hong Kong police, which makes a speciality of combating organized crime, took quick motion. Late at evening on July 3, detectives combed by means of CCTV footage from Tseung Kwan O Plaza and close by areas to trace down the abductors. At 5:25 a.m. on July 4, the boy was discovered secure and sound, and the suspect was captured.

Notably, violent crime within the metropolis elevated 9.4% within the first 5 months of this yr. The variety of instances elevated to 4,237 from 3,872 throughout the identical interval in 2023.

Unlawful use of USDT

Tether, the corporate behind USDT, has been linked to a lot of unlawful transactions. In 2023, that is involving Illicit buying and selling quantity was $19.3 billion, down from $24.7 billion the earlier yr. Stablecoins, particularly these on the Tron blockchain, are the currencies of alternative for terrorism financing in 2023.

The United Nations (UN) additionally freed A report states that stablecoins have been on the forefront of cash laundering and fraud in Southeast Asia.

In the meantime, police in southeastern China’s Sichuan Province, dismantled Earlier this yr, an underground financial institution was concerned in unlawful overseas foreign money exchanges utilizing the USDT stablecoin. The underground deal dealt with transactions price at the very least 13.8 billion yuan ($1.9 billion).

The legal group is based totally in Chengdu and gives providers to people searching for to smuggle medication and cosmetics or buy property abroad. 193 legal suspects have been arrested throughout the nation and 149 million yuan in property have been frozen.