A man who made 5 million yuan by using PVN to exploit airdrops had it all confiscated by a fine? How should we view this situation?

Introduction

Today, a friend forwarded me an article by my fellow lawyer, Zhang Suhang, titled "Airdrop-Fighting Studio Busted! 5 Million Yuan in Illegal Gains Confiscated!", wanting me to analyze whether airdrop-fighting is really that risky. I carefully read Attorney Zhang's article and felt that as a fellow cryptocurrency lawyer, it was necessary to combine my own practical experience, my understanding of circumventing internet censorship (i.e., "scientific internet access"), airdrop-fighting, and my long-term experience dealing with public security organs to write an article analyzing this matter.

I. Case Overview

According to Attorney Zhang's article, he recently handled a case involving a studio that was "forced" to commit fraud. A total of three people embezzled 3 million yuan in a year. In legal terms, "forced" usually means "forced into a position," implying criminal activity. However, Attorney Zhang's article states that his clients were not involved in any criminal offenses related to virtual currency, but they violated relevant laws regarding "scientific internet access." Therefore, they were fined 5 million yuan in illegal gains, had their mobile phones and computers confiscated, and were fined 10,000 yuan.