Shenyang police have dismantled a cross-border illegal currency exchange operation involving wash trading of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Tether. The investigation, prompted by a U.S. tip-off, led to the arrest of Chinese nationals Tong and Chen in Wuhan, who were implicated in laundering money for drug traffickers. Both were sentenced to prison and fined in September. The operation involved over 16 million yuan in illegal foreign exchange transactions, with Tong using domestic bank cards to buy and sell currencies. Some transactions included purchasing cryptocurrencies to resell overseas for US dollars. The investigation also uncovered methods used to bypass U.S. regulations on large cash and virtual currency transactions. Chinese authorities have communicated these findings to the U.S., agreeing to enhance anti-money laundering cooperation.