HK Appeals Court Upholds Prison Term in Human Trafficking Case Linked to Crypto
Ma Zhihao, a Hong Kong resident, was sentenced to 56 months in prison for his role in a human trafficking operation. The scheme involved recruiting victims with false job offers and forcing them into scam operations in Southeast Asia.
Blockchain transaction records played a crucial role in the prosecution after investigators linked a ransom payment from a victim's family to a crypto exchange account registered under Ma's name. Roughly 9,527 Tether ($USDT) was transferred to a cryptocurrency wallet specified by the criminals, and police then tracked 8,127 $USDT to an exchange account opened using Ma's real name and Hong Kong identity documents.
The funds were converted into roughly HK$63,000 and sent to Ma's personal HSBC bank account. The Court of Appeal upheld the prison term, stating that the transaction trail supported the finding that Ma had participated in the scheme and received proceeds from it.