USDT trail helps uphold prison term in Hong Kong trafficking case

A Hong Kong appeals court has upheld a 56-month prison term for Ma Zhihao after investigators linked ransom payments from a human trafficking operation to a crypto exchange account registered in his name. Summary Hong Kong’s Court of Appeal upheld Ma Zhihao’s 56-month prison sentence. Police traced 8,127 USDT from a victim’s ransom to an exchange account registered to Ma. The USDT was converted into about HK$63,000 and transferred to Ma’s HSBC account. The trafficking network lured victims to Southeast Asia using fake high-paying job offers. Caixin reported on Aug. 20 that the Hong Kong Court of Appeal rejected Ma’s request for a reduced sentence, leaving intact the punishment imposed over his role in a scheme that lured victims to Southeast Asia with fake job offers before some were confined and forced into scam operations. Blockchain transaction records became a key part of the prosecution after Hong Kong police traced a ransom paid by the family of one victim. Investigators found that roughly 9,527 Tether (USDT) had been transferred to a cryptocurrency wallet specified by the criminals. Police then tracked 8,127 USDT from the ransom to an exchange account opened using Ma’s real ...