{"investigation":{"slug":"safew-technology-co-ltd-safew-messaging-app","entity_name":"SafeW Technology Co. Ltd. (SafeW Messaging App)","trust_score":50,"severity_base":50,"score_modifier":0,"confidence":0.75,"status":"published","content_type":"investigation","summary":"SafeW Technology Co., Ltd. is a Singapore-based developer of the SafeW privacy-focused messaging app. The US Treasury's OFAC designated it on 2026-09-09 for materially assisting Xinbi Guarantee, a Chinese-language illicit crypto marketplace, to which Xinbi's merchant and laundering networks migrated around June 2025.","sections":[{"content":"According to the US Treasury press release, OFAC designated SafeW Technology Co., Ltd. on September 9, 2026 under E.O. 13581, as amended, for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided support to Xinbi Guarantee. Treasury describes SafeW as Singapore-based and the developer of a privacy-focused messaging app. Xinbi Guarantee was designated as a significant transnational criminal organization, and Cambodia-based Anwen Technology (developer of the XinbiPay wallet) was designated in the same action. Counterparties dealing with SafeW now face US sanctions exposure.","heading":"OFAC Sanctions Designation","sources":[{"url":"https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0624","name":"US Treasury press release sb0624","type":"regulatory","credibility":1},{"url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-sanctions-xinbi-restrains-52m-crypto","name":"Cointelegraph: US sanctions Xinbi scam marketplace, restrains $52M in crypto","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"critical"},{"content":"Treasury states that around June 2025 Xinbi Guarantee began migrating its merchant and money-laundering networks to SafeW and encourages buyers and sellers to use it to coordinate transactions. Treasury describes Xinbi as a Chinese-language marketplace connecting scam center operators with merchants offering financial services, with escrow services, and reportedly processing the equivalent of over $24 billion since around 2022. Earlier Elliptic research (May 2025) put Xinbi-linked USDT receipts at at least $8.4 billion since 2022, with 233,000 users. Reports indicate the US Secret Service froze about $52.8 million in USDT across 52 wallets tied to Xinbi; Xinbi reportedly disputed the freeze. The UK sanctioned Xinbi in March 2026; per one source, SafeW was not named in the UK action.","heading":"Role in the Xinbi Guarantee Ecosystem","sources":[{"url":"https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0624","name":"US Treasury press release sb0624","type":"regulatory","credibility":1},{"url":"https://www.elliptic.co/blog/xinbi-guarantee","name":"Elliptic: Xinbi Guarantee (May 12, 2025)","type":"research","credibility":2},{"url":"https://decrypt.co/377804","name":"Decrypt: Secret Service freezes $52.8 million tied to Telegram bazaar","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"high"},{"content":"Elliptic reported that about $220,000 in USDT from the roughly $235 million WazirX theft of July 2024, which it attributes to DPRK-linked actors, was sent to Xinbi Guarantee addresses on November 12, 2024. This concerns Xinbi, not SafeW directly. Elliptic's article does not mention Bybit. A single Ukrainian-language secondary source claims funds from the Bybit hack passed through Xinbi; this could not be corroborated by a primary or Tier 1/2 source and is not treated as established. No credible source reviewed ties SafeW itself to the Bybit hack.","heading":"Links to Hack Proceeds (WazirX; Bybit not established)","sources":[{"url":"https://www.elliptic.co/blog/xinbi-guarantee","name":"Elliptic: Xinbi Guarantee","type":"research","credibility":2}],"severity":"medium"}],"timeline":[{"date":"2022","event":"Xinbi Guarantee begins operating, per Treasury ('around 2022').","source":"US Treasury","source_url":"https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0624"},{"date":"2025-05-12","event":"Elliptic publishes research on Xinbi Guarantee, including the WazirX proceeds link.","source":"Elliptic","source_url":"https://www.elliptic.co/blog/xinbi-guarantee","date_evidence":"Publication date: May 12, 2025"},{"date":"2025-06","event":"Xinbi merchant and laundering networks begin migrating to SafeW, per Treasury ('around June 2025').","source":"US Treasury","source_url":"https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0624"},{"date":"2026-03","event":"UK sanctions Xinbi (SafeW reportedly not named).","source":"Decrypt/Forklog coverage","source_url":"https://forklog.com/en/us-sanctions-xinbi-seizes-over-52-million-in-cryptocurrency/"},{"date":"2026-09-09","event":"OFAC designates SafeW Technology, Xinbi Guarantee and Anwen Technology.","source":"US Treasury","source_url":"https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0624","date_evidence":"Designation date: September 9, 2026"}],"sources_used":[{"url":"https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0624","name":"US Treasury press release sb0624","type":"regulatory","credibility":1},{"url":"https://www.elliptic.co/blog/xinbi-guarantee","name":"Elliptic: Xinbi Guarantee","type":"research","credibility":2},{"url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-sanctions-xinbi-restrains-52m-crypto","name":"Cointelegraph: US sanctions Xinbi","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://decrypt.co/377804","name":"Decrypt: Secret Service freezes $52.8 million","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://forklog.com/en/us-sanctions-xinbi-seizes-over-52-million-in-cryptocurrency/","name":"Forklog: US sanctions Xinbi","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"source_tags":[],"addresses":[],"reviewed":true,"reviewed_by":null,"model_used":"claude-code-investigator","created_at":"2026-09-14T12:34:16.27961+00:00","updated_at":"2026-11-04T09:54:43.833+00:00"},"source_quality":{"total":5,"tier1":1,"tier2":3,"tier3":0,"unrated":1},"follower_count":null,"content_updated_at":"2026-11-04T09:54:45.487Z","last_fact_checked_at":"2026-11-04T09:54:44.176Z","fact_check_next_allowed_at":"2026-11-11T09:54:44.176Z","update_next_allowed_at":"2026-11-11T09:32:49.621Z"}