Chinese investors with political ties allegedly behind mining hub in Texas

A new report from The New York Times sheds light on how Chinese investors, aided by Binance, acquired a Texas mining facility.

A 23-year-old Chinese national and NYU student, Jerry Yu, appears to be the majority owner of a Texas-based crypto mining facility BitRush, which was backed by $6 million in Tether (USDT) by undisclosed Chinese investors, according to a recent report from The New York Times.

In one of the lawsuits filed by Crypton Mining Solutions, which alleges non-payment for services in the Texas Panhandle town, BitRush’s investors — described as “not only Chinese citizens but citizens in highly political and influential business positions” — raised concerns about how exactly the funds were transferred from China to the U.S.

The lawsuits, as reported by NYT, exposed a public money trail ending at Binance, which facilitated transactions with USDT through its offshore branch when the exchange’s operations were not adhering to American banking rules, the report notes.

You might also like: Binance challenges SEC lawsuit by arguing DoJ settlements not applicable

It is unclear who was the source of the funds, as it is only known to Binance. Gavin Clarkson, a lawyer for BitRush, told NYT that the firm itself never sent or received any money through Binance. Clarkson also disputed claims of non-payment and said that compliance with all relevant laws and regulations was observed.

A spokesperson for Binance said the transactions belonged to “foreign nationals who were not U.S. residents,” without revealing their names. According to legal documents shared by Crypton, BitRush planned to buy the Texas site with $6.33 million in USDT. The documents also reveal that after Yu, the biggest shareholder of BitRush was an undisclosed investor from IMO Ventures, a China-focused venture capital firm.

Read more: China’s central bank lists crypto-assets in financial stability report