The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has placed Xinbi Guarantee on its sanctions list, calling it a significant transnational criminal organization.  

The move was announced on September 9, 2026, and also covers two technology companies that helped the platform run. 

Treasury says the Chinese-language marketplace handled the equivalent of more than $24 billion in digital assets and regular currency since it started up around 2022. Officials described it as a central meeting point that linked scam-center operators with people selling financial services, technology, and other supplies, mostly across Southeast Asia.  

On the same day, the Department of Justice seized related infrastructure and digital-asset wallets. 

What OFAC Designated  

Xinbi Guarantee was listed under Executive Order 13581, as amended. This is a blocking order. Any property or interests belonging to the named parties that sit in the United States or are controlled by U.S. persons must be frozen and reported.  

OFAC also added Anwen Technology, a company based in Cambodia that built the XinbiPay wallet (sometimes called NewPay), and SafeW Technology, a Singapore firm behind the SafeW encrypted messaging app. Treasury says both companies gave material support to Xinbi’s main operations. The listing includes a number of TRON blockchain addresses tied to the network.  

Britain had already sanctioned Xinbi back in March 2026. The U.S. step follows that earlier action and builds on previous designations of other groups working in the same part of the world.  

How the Marketplace Functioned  

According to Treasury, Xinbi was not just a place where people posted ads. It brought together operators of scam compounds and merchants who offered payment tools, technical help, and other services. It also ran an escrow system that held funds between buyers and sellers until a deal was finished.  

After earlier crackdowns hit similar platforms, a lot of the activity appears to have moved over to Xinbi. The marketplace pushed users toward the SafeW messaging app for talks and the XinbiPay wallet for payments. Officials say this setup let people negotiate in private while the money transfers looked like ordinary wallet activity.  

The platform has also been linked to groups that were already under sanctions, including some tied to North Korean actors and the Prince Group.  

What the Designation Means Going Forward  

U.S. persons can no longer deal in any property or interests of the designated parties. Companies that are owned 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are blocked too under the 50 Percent Rule. Banks and other businesses now have to screen for the listed names, aliases, websites, and published wallet addresses, and they must report anything they freeze to OFAC.  

The designation itself is not a criminal conviction. It is an administrative step that freezes assets. Separate criminal investigations and efforts to lock down funds are still moving ahead under the Justice Department’s Scam Center Strike Force. Anyone who gets a subpoena, target letter, or questions about transactions involving these entities should treat it seriously and get advice right away.  

Cases like this often turn on questions of what someone knew, what they intended, and exactly which dealings are off-limits. Looking carefully at the specific facts and the rules that apply is important.  

Facing an OFAC or Financial Crime Investigation?  

At Bukhlaw white-collar sanctions, and public corruption matters from our clients is not a strange news. We’ve represented high profile cases before and with our experienced lawyers.  

So If you or your business has received a target letter, grand jury subpoena, or maybe you just want to make an inquiry tied to sanctioned platforms or related financial activity, fill out the contact form on our website and ask for a confidential call.   

We will go through them with you and walk you through what the next stage of the case is likely to involve.