$40,000 orders, USDT and “tens of millions of dollars in purchasing capacity”: Chinese citizens in the United States, military equipment procurement chain exposed

A criminal record released by the U.S. Department of Justice on August 10 divided a military technology procurement case into a series of very specific figures.

Chinese citizen Dingwei Chen, 29, paid more than $40,000 in initial payment to suppliers and then transferred to about $30,000 USDT cryptocurrency, which was only used for the initial 10 military satellite communication modems.

Chen had already admitted to violations of the Arms Export Control Act in a federal court in Utah, and was sentenced to a maximum of 20 years in prison on October 19.

The target equipment accused by the prosecutor is not ordinary communications products, but military-grade satellite modems and radio equipment made for the U.S. military. Such equipment is regulated by the U.S. International Arms Trade Regulations and cannot be exported to China without the U.S. State Department's permission, and relevant licenses are usually not approved.

Trading methods also have circumvention characteristics.

Chen and his colleagues communicated via the crypto app and later switched from traditional payments to cryptocurrencies.Justice Department documents say they discussed cold wallets with features such as anonymity and transactions that are difficult to track.

The U.S. Department of National Security positioned the case as a transfer of sensitive military technology to China.Justice officials in charge of national security affairs pointed out that these devices could be used against the United States itself in the future once they entered China.

The biggest question behind the case now is where the “tens of millions of dollars” came from.

Public accusations confirmed Chen’s purchase intention and part of the payment chain, but did not disclose its full source of funding, the ultimate purchaser, and receiving networks outside the United States.

The case revealed is not stealing drawings in the traditional sense.

Following increasingly strict export controls, sensitive military technology acquisition is shifting to intermediaries, hidden payments, and global commercial procurement.

The other side of the technology war is the procurement war.