China’s foreign ministry has reportedly confirmed that a visiting Atlanta-based banker who works for the financial service behemoth Wells Fargo has been prohibited from leaving the country.

CNN reports that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Monday that the exit ban placed on Chenyue Mao is due to her involvement in a criminal case.

Mao serves as managing director at Wells Fargo Bank N.A.

“According to Chinese law, the case is under investigation, and Ms. Mao is temporarily unable to leave the country and is obligated to cooperate with the investigation. During the investigation, the authorities will ensure that her legal rights are protected.”

The bank, which operates overseas branches in Shanghai and Beijing, decided to suspend all travel to China following the exit restrictions.

“We are closely tracking this situation and working through the appropriate channels so our employee can return to the United States as soon as possible.”

It is not clear how Mao is linked to the criminal case. Just last month, she was elected the new chair of FCI, a global association of companies formerly known as the Factors Chain International.

In a statement to the BBC, the US embassy in Shanghai says that the Chinese government has long imposed exit bans on US citizens and other foreign nationals, often without a clear and transparent judicial process.

“We track these cases closely, and have raised our concern with Chinese authorities about the impact these arbitrary exit bans have on our bilateral relations and urged them to immediately allow impacted US citizens to return home.”

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We take a proactive and rigorous approach to detect and prevent fraud, money laundering and other illegal activities. Our systems are built to identify threats early and respond quickly.

Our risk detection and enforcement tools include:

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They also work closely with global law enforcement and regulatory agencies to destroy illegal financial flows and return stolen assets where possible.

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Preventing fraud is a common responsibility. As a result, Kraken maintains close cooperation with regulatory bodies, law enforcement agencies and blockchain intelligence companies. Together, we are working to strengthen industry standards and disrupt illegal activities across the crypto space.

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We firmly believe that trust is essential for the cryptography to flourish. Creating a secure and reliable digital asset ecosystem is only possible through collective responsibility. Our compliance and security team works round the clock to protect the platform and its users, but we all need them to create a secure environment.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced that five men have pleaded guilty to a Cambodian-based crypto investment scam that conned victims out of $36.9 million.

In a new press release, the DOJ says the international crime ring operated by misleading victims to invest in false digital asset scams.

The DOJ says Joseph Wong, Yicheng Zhang, Jose Somarriba, Shengsheng He and Jingliang Su were part of an international criminal network that tricked American victims into believing they were investing in digital assets, but instead funneled money through US shell companies, international bank accounts and crypto wallets.

Through texts, phone calls, social media and dating apps, the perpetrators contacted victims and gained their trust. They would then convince victims to invest in fraudulent crypto projects, telling the victims all the while that their investments were increasing in value.

Instead of investing their capital, however, the men transferred $36.9 million in victim funds to a single account at Deltec Bank in the Bahamas under the name of “Axis Digital Limited.”

The funds were then funneled to USDT wallets controlled by individuals in Cambodia.

Aside from the five men pleading guilty, eight other co-conspirators have also confessed, so far.

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Sead Fadilpašić

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Sead Fadilpašić

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Sead specializes in writing factual and informative articles to help the public navigate the ever-changing world of crypto. He has extensive experience in the blockchain industry, where he has served…

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Last updated: 

June 1, 2025

The Czech Republic has been shaken by a Bitcoin scandal. On Friday, Justice Minister Pavel Blažek resigned, with the opposition set to demand the resignation of the coalition government this week as well.

The situation caught on fire at the end of last week after Blažek, a conservative politician, accepted a large donation in BTC and sold it for about $45.8 million in March, the AP reported. The opposition has raised concerns over the source of the donation.

Blažek received the coins from Tomas Jirikovsky, a convicted criminal. Jirikovsky operated the Sheep Marketplace. In 2017, he went to prison for embezzlement, drug trafficking, and illegal trading of weapons.

Jirikovsky’s lawyer reportedly approached Blažek in March 2025, saying his client would donate 30% of his BTC stash to the ministry. Police had confiscated the wallet containing this BTC and returned it to Jirikovsky after his release in 2021.

Blažek did not check the coins’ origin. “I have no way to investigate the matter, and I wasn’t interested so many years after the case,” he said at a press conference on Thursday. Jirikovsky probably wanted “to repent” through the donation, he said.

He also claimed that courts had not proven that the BTC came from criminal activity.

However, the opposition parties argue that it’s unclear why Jirikovsky gave the coins to the ministry or where the coins came from. They accused Blažek of potential money laundering.

Furthermore, they argue that the state shouldn’t use the money until these points are clear.

Meanwhile, the High Prosecutor’s Office in Olomouc is investigating the case on suspicion of abuse of official authority and laundering of proceeds of crime.

Blažek denied knowledge of wrongdoing. Nonetheless, he said he resigned so not to harm the four-party coalition government led by Prime Minister Petr Fiala. The PM said he believed that Blažek acted with goodwill.

Czech Coalition Government in Danger?

Today, Brno Daily reported that the lower house will hold an urgent session on Thursday. The opposition parties will use the occasion to demand the resignation of the coalition government, the deputy leaders of the ANO and SPD parties, Karel Havlicek and Radim Fiala, said on Sunday.

“We will want the government to find sufficient self-reflection and resign,” Havlicek said. The current cabinet could stay until the parliamentary elections in October, but it shouldn’t have the power to make major decisions.

If the coalition government doesn’t resign,

“We are very strongly considering calling a no-confidence vote in the government.”

Fiala, deputy leader of the far-right SPD, said that his party “will support an extraordinary session” and a vote of no confidence in the government.

However, lower house speaker Jan Skopecek said the opposition’s plans are just “theatre” in the campaign ahead of the elections. He added that Blažek has already resigned, so there is no reason for the cabinet to do so as well.

Moreover, Czech Fiscal Council chair Mojmir Hampl argued that this case raises numerous key technical questions. However, these will not be answered in the pre-election stage.

Meanwhile, Le Monde reported that Jirikovsky had been trying to recover about 1,500 BTC, seized by the police, since his imprisonment. During the trial, the court suspected that the coins came from Nucleus. This is a dark web marketplace that, the report claims, shut down the day after Jirikovsky’s arrest.

Furthermore, BTC market monitors noted that a portion of the Nucleus-linked BTC, dormant since 2016, moved to new wallets in March. This is after Blažek signed the agreement, reports claim.

Jirikovsky claimed that he got to keep the BTC because he had obtained it legally. Blažek claimed he hadn’t made any promises in return for the donation.

All these allegations will likely be brought up during the Thursday emergency session.

Customers at several of the largest banks in the US are reportedly victims of a ruthless robbery scheme, according to a new report.

Members of two criminal organizations in Maryland have been charged with participating in a criminal gang, attempted murder, armed carjacking, armed robbery, assault and firearms-related counts, reports WMAR 2 News.

Authorities say the groups targeted customers visiting physical bank branches, specifically at Bank of America, Capital One, Wells Fargo and Navy Federal Credit Union.

The groups would allegedly follow victims after they used an ATM or emerged from inside the bank – striking them at their homes or businesses.

In one especially bold move, the thieves are accused of purposefully crashing into a victim’s car to force a stop, robbing them at gunpoint.

From August 2023 to July 2024, prosecutors say the groups robbed 34 victims of over $155,000 across five Maryland counties.

At time of publishing, a total of seven people have been indicted.

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The agency’s report, published on March 18, highlights how criminals are taking advantage of these technologies to expand their operations, from online fraud to organized crime.

AI has made digital crimes more accessible by removing technical barriers. Generative AI tools allow criminals to create convincing messages in multiple languages. Europol warns that automation has amplified cybercrime, enabling large-scale phishing attacks and the creation of harmful content, including malware and explicit material.

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Another growing threat is the use of AI to generate deepfakes. Europol noted in the report, “The addition of AI-powered voice cloning and live video deepfakes amplifies the threat, enabling new forms of fraud, extortion, and identity theft”.

With these tools, criminals can fabricate realistic images, videos, and voices, which make scams harder to detect.

Beyond AI, Europol highlights the expanding role of cryptocurrency in criminal activities. While crypto was once primarily linked to cybercrime, it is also used in more traditional illegal operations, such as drug trafficking and human smuggling.

Additionally, criminals are developing new methods to steal digital assets, including cryptocurrency, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and mining equipment.

Meanwhile, more than 400 Hollywood creative figures, including Paul McCartney, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Rock, and Cynthia Erivo, sent an open letter to the Trump administration. What did the letter say? Read the full story.