{"investigation":{"slug":"safew-technology-co-ltd-safew-messaging-app","entity_name":"SafeW Technology Co. Ltd. (SafeW Messaging App)","trust_score":2,"severity_base":null,"score_modifier":0,"confidence":0.75,"status":"draft","content_type":"investigation","summary":"SafeW Technology Co., Ltd. is the developer of SafeW, an end-to-end encrypted messaging application that the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated on September 9, 2026, for materially supporting Xinbi Guarantee, a Chinese-language online marketplace OFAC designated the same day as a significant transnational criminal organization. According to OFAC, Xinbi Guarantee — alleged to have processed more than $24 billion in digital and fiat currency since roughly 2022 in support of Southeast Asian scam centers and money-laundering networks — began migrating its merchant and vendor coordination onto SafeW around June 2025 as law enforcement scrutiny of its prior channels increased. Singapore's police force has publicly disputed OFAC's characterization of SafeW Technology as a Singapore-incorporated entity, stating it has found no evidence to substantiate that claim.","sections":[{"content":"On September 9, 2026, OFAC added SafeW Technology Co., Ltd. to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List under the Transnational Criminal Organizations sanctions program, alongside Xinbi Guarantee itself and Anwen Technology Co., Ltd. (developer of the XinbiPay/NewPay wallet, based in Cambodia). OFAC's designation states that SafeW Technology \"materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of\" Xinbi Guarantee, which the U.S. Treasury separately designated as a significant transnational criminal organization. The listing describes SafeW Technology's registered country as Singapore and its incorporation date as 2018, and lists the Chinese-language name 赛方科技有限公司 and the websites safew.org and www.safew-app.org. All property and interests in property of SafeW Technology within U.S. jurisdiction, or in the possession or control of U.S. persons, are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from transacting with the entity.","heading":"OFAC Sanctions Designation","sources":[{"url":"https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0624","name":"U.S. Department of the Treasury press release — Treasury Cracks Down on Transnational Criminal Organization Behind Cyber Scam Operations Targeting Americans","type":"regulatory","credibility":1},{"url":"https://www.opensanctions.org/entities/ofac-58365/","name":"OpenSanctions — SafeW Technology Co., Ltd. entity record (OFAC SDN listing)","type":"regulatory","credibility":1}],"severity":"critical"},{"content":"According to OFAC and Treasury statements, SafeW is a highly private, end-to-end encrypted messaging application that Xinbi Guarantee began directing its merchant and money-laundering vendor network to adopt around June 2025, reportedly in response to growing law-enforcement pressure on the platform's prior communication channels. Xinbi Guarantee is alleged by Treasury to be an illicit Chinese-language online marketplace connecting Southeast Asian scam-center operators and other transnational crime syndicates with vendors of financial, technological, and other services, and to have processed the equivalent of over $24 billion in digital and fiat currency since roughly 2022 (a TRM Labs analysis cited a higher figure, over $36 billion in total volume with $17 billion in inflows, by the time of designation). OFAC and industry researchers state that Xinbi's platform — and by extension the SafeW app used for vendor coordination — has been used by North Korean (DPRK)-linked hackers moving funds from major hacks, including the Bybit and WazirX breaches, and by other OFAC-designated entities such as Jin Bei Group Co., Ltd. and members of the Prince Group transnational criminal organization. These are allegations made in U.S. government sanctions materials and have not been tested in a U.S. court against SafeW Technology specifically.","heading":"Alleged Role in Xinbi Guarantee's Scam Infrastructure","sources":[{"url":"https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0624","name":"U.S. Department of the Treasury press release","type":"regulatory","credibility":1},{"url":"https://www.trmlabs.com/resources/blog/the-us-sanctions-xinbi-one-of-southeast-asias-largest-illicit-crypto-marketplaces","name":"TRM Labs — The US Sanctions Xinbi, One of Southeast Asia's Largest Illicit Crypto Marketplaces","type":"research","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/ofac-sanctions-chinese-scam/","name":"Infosecurity Magazine — OFAC Sanctions Chinese Scam Platform Xinbi Guarantee","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"critical"},{"content":"OFAC's SDN listing identifies SafeW Technology Co., Ltd. as a Singapore-incorporated entity dating to 2018. On September 10, 2026, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) issued a public clarification stating that \"there is no information or evidence to substantiate the claim that SafeW Technology Co. Ltd is incorporated in Singapore,\" and indicated Singapore does not tolerate corporate entities using Singapore as a base to facilitate criminal activity. The SPF statement did not identify an alternative jurisdiction for the company and said it was engaging with U.S. authorities on the matter. This discrepancy means the company's true corporate domicile is currently unverified, and claims describing SafeW Technology as a \"Singapore-based\" developer should be treated as alleged/disputed pending further clarification from OFAC or Singaporean authorities.","heading":"Disputed Singapore Incorporation Claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.police.gov.sg/Media-Hub/News/2026/09/20260910_clarification_on_safew_technology_co_ltd_being_a_singapore_based_entity","name":"Singapore Police Force — Clarification On Safew Technology Co. Ltd Being A Singapore-Based Entity","type":"official","credibility":1}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"Alongside the OFAC designations of Xinbi Guarantee, SafeW Technology, and Anwen Technology, the U.S. Department of Justice's Scam Center Strike Force reportedly seized two cryptocurrency wallets containing approximately $12 million and sought restraint of 47 additional wallets allegedly tied to money laundering conducted through Xinbi and its vendor network, bringing the total crypto placed beyond the network's reach to more than $52 million. Reporting also indicates DOJ seized Xinbi-linked Telegram channels as part of the coordinated action, and that the United Kingdom had separately designated Xinbi Guarantee on March 26, 2026, ahead of the U.S. action. No enforcement action specific to SafeW Technology's assets or personnel (distinct from the OFAC blocking designation) has been publicly reported as of this writing.","heading":"Related Enforcement Actions","sources":[{"url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/09/10/us-seizes-52m-in-crypto-and-telegram-channels-linked-to-xinbi-guarantee/","name":"CryptoTimes — DOJ Seized Xinbi's Telegram Channels as OFAC Designated It a Criminal Organization; Treasury Puts Volume at $24 Billion","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.trmlabs.com/resources/blog/the-us-sanctions-xinbi-one-of-southeast-asias-largest-illicit-crypto-marketplaces","name":"TRM Labs — The US Sanctions Xinbi, One of Southeast Asia's Largest Illicit Crypto Marketplaces","type":"research","credibility":2}],"severity":"high"}],"timeline":[{"date":"2018","event":"SafeW Technology Co., Ltd. incorporation date as recorded in OFAC's sanctions listing (jurisdiction of incorporation disputed by Singapore authorities).","source":"OpenSanctions (OFAC SDN entity record)","source_url":"https://www.opensanctions.org/entities/ofac-58365/"},{"date":"2022","event":"Approximate founding/start of operations of Xinbi Guarantee, the online marketplace SafeW's app allegedly later served.","source":"U.S. Department of the Treasury press release","source_url":"https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0624"},{"date":"2025-06","event":"Xinbi Guarantee allegedly began migrating its merchant and money-laundering vendor network to the SafeW encrypted messaging app amid rising law enforcement scrutiny of prior channels.","source":"U.S. Department of the Treasury press release","source_url":"https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0624"},{"date":"2026-03-26","event":"The United Kingdom designated Xinbi Guarantee, becoming the first jurisdiction to sanction the platform.","source":"TRM Labs blog","source_url":"https://www.trmlabs.com/resources/blog/the-us-sanctions-xinbi-one-of-southeast-asias-largest-illicit-crypto-marketplaces","date_evidence":"the UK had designated Xinbi on March 26, 2026"},{"date":"2026-09-09","event":"OFAC designated SafeW Technology Co., Ltd., Xinbi Guarantee, and Anwen Technology Co., Ltd. on the SDN List under the Transnational Criminal Organizations program; DOJ's Scam Center Strike Force simultaneously seized crypto wallets and Telegram channels linked to the network.","source":"U.S. Department of the Treasury press release","source_url":"https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0624","date_evidence":"Designation Date: September 9, 2026"},{"date":"2026-09","event":"Singapore Police Force publicly disputed the claim that SafeW Technology Co. Ltd. is incorporated in Singapore, stating it found no evidence to substantiate OFAC's characterization.","source":"Singapore Police Force","source_url":"https://www.police.gov.sg/Media-Hub/News/2026/09/20260910_clarification_on_safew_technology_co_ltd_being_a_singapore_based_entity","date_evidence":"20260910_clarification_on_safew_technology_co_ltd_being_a_singapore_based_entity","date_original":"2026-09-10"}],"sources_used":[{"url":"https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0624","name":"U.S. Department of the Treasury press release — Treasury Cracks Down on Transnational Criminal Organization Behind Cyber Scam Operations Targeting Americans","type":"regulatory","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260913005344/https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0624","credibility":1,"archive_timestamp":"2026-09-13T00:53:44+00:00"},{"url":"https://www.opensanctions.org/entities/ofac-58365/","name":"OpenSanctions — SafeW Technology Co., Ltd. entity record (OFAC SDN listing)","type":"regulatory","archive_url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20260914130808/https://www.opensanctions.org/entities/ofac-58365/","credibility":1,"archive_timestamp":"2026-09-14T13:08:08+00:00"},{"url":"https://www.police.gov.sg/Media-Hub/News/2026/09/20260910_clarification_on_safew_technology_co_ltd_being_a_singapore_based_entity","name":"Singapore Police Force — Clarification On Safew Technology Co. Ltd Being A Singapore-Based Entity","type":"official","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260914130924/https://www.police.gov.sg/Media-Hub/News/2026/09/20260910_clarification_on_safew_technology_co_ltd_being_a_singapore_based_entity","credibility":1,"archive_timestamp":"2026-09-14T13:09:24+00:00"},{"url":"https://www.trmlabs.com/resources/blog/the-us-sanctions-xinbi-one-of-southeast-asias-largest-illicit-crypto-marketplaces","name":"TRM Labs — The US Sanctions Xinbi, One of Southeast Asia's Largest Illicit Crypto Marketplaces","type":"research","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260914144735/https://www.trmlabs.com/resources/blog/the-us-sanctions-xinbi-one-of-southeast-asias-largest-illicit-crypto-marketplaces","credibility":2,"archive_timestamp":"2026-09-14T14:47:35+00:00"},{"url":"https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/ofac-sanctions-chinese-scam/","name":"Infosecurity Magazine — OFAC Sanctions Chinese Scam Platform Xinbi Guarantee","type":"news_article","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260910083831/https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/ofac-sanctions-chinese-scam/","credibility":2,"archive_timestamp":"2026-09-10T08:38:31+00:00"},{"url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/09/10/us-seizes-52m-in-crypto-and-telegram-channels-linked-to-xinbi-guarantee/","name":"CryptoTimes — DOJ Seized Xinbi's Telegram Channels as OFAC Designated It a Criminal Organization; Treasury Puts Volume at $24 Billion","type":"news_article","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260913004651/https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/09/10/us-seizes-52m-in-crypto-and-telegram-channels-linked-to-xinbi-guarantee/","credibility":2,"archive_timestamp":"2026-09-13T00:46:51+00:00"}],"source_tags":[],"addresses":[],"reviewed":false,"reviewed_by":null,"model_used":"claude-code-investigator","created_at":"2026-09-14T12:34:16.27961+00:00","updated_at":"2026-09-14T15:58:21.400918+00:00"}}