Do not build an “AI relay site” that resells foreign large-model APIs at low prices: a Shanghai site operator has already been criminally detained

An AI relay site is a website that resells foreign large-model APIs at low prices. A Shanghai site operator said he was criminally detained for 37 days for this, is now on bail, will definitely be sentenced, and has already returned illicit gains. The Ministry of State Security has also issued a warning that some relay sites lack operating qualifications and some privately send user data abroad

Cost

No money spent. The trade-off is dropping a low-barrier side business that looks good on paper. If you truly want model aggregation, go the proper route — get operating permits and connect officially authorized models; that costs both money and time

Benefit

In June (6) 2026 the Ministry of State Security issued a risk warning. It said AI relay sites are a proxy layer between users and model vendors’ official services. Some relay sites lack operating qualifications. Some, without data-export compliance credentials and without the statutory security-assessment process, send user-input data to servers abroad. Some also let users bypass network-access, official-authorization, and cross-border transmission limits. China Newsweek reported a case in June (6) 2026. In May (5) 2026, a Shanghai relay-site operator posted a shutdown notice in a tech community. He said that for illegally obtaining large-model APIs he had been criminally detained by Shanghai police for 37 days and was now on bail. He said he “will definitely be sentenced,” had already returned illicit gains, and would still pay a fine. The report said such relay sites bulk-register or buy foreign large-model subscriptions, host overseas servers as jump hosts, and resell to domestic users at low prices (nationwide / Shanghai)

Notes

This case has only media reports and the party’s own account — no judgment and no police bulletin — so there is no official statement of the charge. Specific charges and sentences circulating online come from lawyers’ articles and are not cited here. So one cannot say “running a relay site is always a crime,” only that someone has already been criminally detained for it. Doing model aggregation properly requires an operating permit to charge fees; see Section 26, item 2 (fee-charging sites need a license). Offering generative AI to the public needs filing; see item 17 of this section (generative-AI security assessment). Sending user data abroad has statutory conditions; see Section 26, item 10 (user information leaving the country). Users of relay sites have separate risks; see Section 14, item 10 (AI relay sites). The beneficiary is you yourself.

Sources · 1

1. 国家安全部 (2026). 「AI中转站」，风险要防范. szzg.gov.cn/2026/xwzx/szkx/202606/t20260608_5…（数字中国建设峰会官网转载国家安全部微信公众号）；中国新闻周刊 (2026-06-22). AI中转站，面临整治「风暴」（记者孟倩）. chinanews.com/cj/2026/06-22/10644787.shtml（网页存档 web.archive.org/web/20261005042903/https://ww…）