A recent report The Financial Times reveals that a British-Chinese woman, Jian Wen, has been sentenced to six years and eight months in prison for her role in laundering bitcoin (btc) allegedly derived from a £5 billion fraud in China.
Wen, 42, was convicted in March of one count of money laundering on behalf of her former boss, Yadi Zhang, a Chinese woman. He judgment It took place on Friday at London's Southwark Crown Court.
Raid on London mansion uncovers £3bn bitcoin stash
According to the report, in 2018, London's Metropolitan Police carried out a raid on Wen and Zhang's Hampstead mansion. During the raid, they seized devices containing a staggering 61,000 bitcoin, currently valued at over £3 billion. In particular, this seizure marked one of the largest cryptocurrency launches ever done by a law enforcement agency anywhere in the world.
Authorities had originally investigated Wen for an attempted purchase of a London mansion using bitcoin. UK prosecutors alleged that Wen's former boss Zhang was handling a sum of £5bn. fraud scheme in China, resulting in the theft of funds.
While Zhang's lawyer maintained her innocence, Wen was convicted of laundering a portion of the profits between 2017 and 2022 after two trials and acquittals on 10 other charges. It is important to note that Wen was not involved in the original alleged fraud.
However, Judge Sally-Ann Hales, KC, emphasized that Wen had full knowledge of how to deal with the proceeds of crime and described the crime as “sophisticated with significant planning” involved.
Wen, who allegedly helped convert bitcoin into cash, jewelry, luxury goods and property, pleaded not guilty and consistently denied any knowledge that his employer's funds were stolen.
Letter urges negotiations between the United Kingdom and China
Mark Harries KC, Wen's lawyer, described her as a “fragile and desperate woman” who was deceived and manipulated. However, the judge disagreed with this characterization and stated that she did not consider Wen a victim.
Wen admitted to controlling a bitcoin wallet, but claimed ignorance of the cryptocurrency's origin. The court heard Wen had not seen his 16-year-old son for 26 months and He has been detained since March 2022.
Between 2017 and 2020, Wen enlisted the help of several intermediaries to convert the cryptocurrency into various assets.
One of those intermediaries was Michael James Burke, a Dubai-based real estate agent, who allegedly helped Wen sell bitcoin through his companies in the Seychelles and Switzerland and facilitated the purchase of property in Dubai.
The Metropolitan Police is carrying out a civil recovery process to seize the total amount of confiscated funds and is collaborating with Chinese authorities on the matter.
“The Chinese side has already initiated international law enforcement cooperation with the United Kingdom regarding this case,” China's Foreign Ministry said in response to the Financial Times.
The ministry added that law enforcement agencies of both countries are actively working together to pursue fugitives and recover assets. Victims of the alleged £5bn scam in China have also submitted a letter to the Foreign Office in Beijing, urging negotiations with the UK government to recover bitcoin purchased with their money.
At press time, the market's largest cryptocurrency, btc, is trading at $68,150 after falling to consolidate above the key milestone of $70,000.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com