Singaporean
woman, Wen Jian, has been sentenced to six years and eight months in prison by
a London court for her role in laundering Bitcoin (BTC) tied to a staggering
$6.4 billion Chinese fraud.
The case,
which involved the seizure of over 61,000 BTC by the UK police, has shed light
on the growing prevalence of cryptocurrency in global financial crimes.
According
to prosecutors, the $6.4 billion fraud was orchestrated by another woman who
Wen believed to be independently wealthy. This individual allegedly defrauded
nearly 130,000 Chinese investors through fraudulent wealth schemes between 2014
and 2017. When Chinese authorities started investigating the fraud in 2017, the
mastermind fled to Britain.
Wen’s role
in the scheme was to help conceal the source of the stolen money by converting
it into Bitcoin , taking it out of China, and then converting it back into cash
and property. Prosecutors argued that Wen should have been aware that the money
was obtained illegally, but she maintained her innocence throughout the trial.
As part of
their investigation, British police seized wallets containing over 61,000 BTC,
making it one of the largest cryptocurrency seizures by law enforcement
worldwide. The seized tokens were worth approximately £1.4 billion when police gained access in 2021 and have since appreciated to over £3 billion.
Wen Jian, who was accused of assisting in a $6.4 billion bitcoin…
