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. Caixin reported on Aug. 20 that the Hong Kong Court of Appeal rejected Mas 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 name and Hong Kong identity documents, according to Caixin. The funds were converted into roughly HK$63,000 and sent to Ma’s personal HSBC bank account. The Court of Appeal said the transaction trail supported the finding that Ma had participated in the scheme and received proceeds from it. Judges also said his punishment would have been substantially heavier had the District Court not been restricted