In Tseung Kwan O, Hong Kong, a 3-year-old boy was abducted from a shopping mall on July 3.

Following the incident, the kidnappers demanded a ransom of 660,000 USDT, which is about HK$5.15 million.

Hong Kong Kidnappers Demand USDT

The boy's parents were told to buy the USDT ransom from an offline OTC store and download the Telegram messaging software. They were also cautioned against calling the police in an attempt to protect their child. The organised crime division of the Hong Kong Police, known as the Organised Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB), moved right away. Detectives searched through CCTV footage from Tseung Kwan O Plaza and surrounding locations late on July 3 in an attempt to locate the kidnappers. The boy was discovered uninjured around 5:25 a.m. on July 4, and the accused were taken into custody. Notably, over the first five months of this year, violent crime in the city increased by 9.4%. During the same period in 2023, there were 3,872 cases; by contrast, there were 4,237 cases.

Illicit Use of USDT

The business that created USDT, Tether, has been connected to a large number of illegal activities. It was involved in $19.3 billion of illicit transactions in 2023 as opposed to $24.7 billion the year before. In 2023, the stablecoin—especially on the Tron blockchain—was the currency of choice for funding terrorism. According to a report published by the United Nations (UN), money laundering and scams involving stablecoins have been prevalent in Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, earlier this year, authorities in the Southeast Chinese province of Sichuan busted an underground bank that was utilising the USDT stablecoin to conduct unauthorised foreign exchange transactions. At least 13.8 billion yuan ($1.9 billion) worth of transactions were handled by this covert operation.

The criminal group, primarily based in Chengdu, served individuals seeking to smuggle medicine and cosmetics or purchase assets overseas. Authorities arrested 193 suspects across the country and frozen assets valued at 149 million yuan.