China Sentences Convicted Drug Trafficker to Death for Crypto Laundering

China has intensified its crackdown on cryptocurrency-based money laundering by sentencing a convicted drug trafficker to death. Li Mobo, a convicted drug trafficker, was sentenced to death for laundering over 48 million yuan (approximately $7 million) through cryptocurrency as part of a cross-border narcotics operation.

The Supreme People's Procuratorate said the sentence covered multiple convictions, including cross-border drug smuggling, drug trafficking, drug transportation, and money laundering. The court imposed the death penalty under China's combined sentencing framework rather than for money laundering alone.

Prosecutors have charged over 1,200 people in drug-related money laundering cases between January 2025 and May 2026. Authorities are expanding investigations into cross-border money laundering, underground banking, online gambling, and other cryptocurrency-related financial crimes.