America offers US$4 million bounty for arrest of Chinese money launderer

Daren Li fled the US after admitting he conspired to launder funds obtained from victims in cryptocurrency scams and fraud in Southeast Asia

The United States is offering a reward of up to US$4 million for information leading to the arrest of a Chinese national who fled the US after being convicted of money laundering.

The bounty on fugitive Daren Li, 43, was announced by the State Department on Thursday through its Transnational Organised Crime Rewards Programme.

In February, Li was convicted and sentenced in absentia to 20 years in prison by the US Court for the Central District of California.

He had pleaded guilty in November 2024 to conspiring to launder funds obtained from victims through cryptocurrency scams and related fraud in Southeast Asia.

In December 2025, Li removed his electronic monitoring device and fled, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Court documents show that Li holds dual citizenship in China and St Kitts and Nevis – a two-island country in the eastern Caribbean Sea – and at various times has lived in China, Cambodia and the United Arab Emirates.