Wen Jian was discovered responsible by a London court docket on one depend of Bitcoin cash laundering in connection to a $6 billion Chinese language funding rip-off.
On March 20, a U.Okay. jury discovered enough proof linking Jian to Qian Zhimin, the obvious mastermind of a multi-year Bitcoin (BTC) fraud scheme that impacted some 130,000 traders in China, per native media SCMP.
Between 2017 and 2022, Zhimin reportedly used seven places of work overseeing 10 funding corporations unfold all through Asia to boost billions in illicit wealth. Based on Jian, Zhimin recruited her below pretenses in September 2017 from an East London-located quick meals retailer.
Whereas the convicted denied wrongdoings all through the trial, authorities attorneys efficiently argued that Jian lived an prosperous life funded by fraudulent property and was conscious of Zhimin’s operations.
The pair reportedly laundered Bitcoin to accumulate property in Dubai, Europe, and the U.Okay. for at the least three years. London police seized $2.2 billion in BTC throughout a 2018 home raid. Enforcement brokers stated the property belonged to Zhimin and Jian.
London’s Metropolitan Police detective chief superintendent, Jason Prins, declared that the result underscored efforts to deal with a world monetary crime operation that sought to leverage cryptocurrencies in unhealthy religion.
Bitcoin ineffective for crypto crime
The case is one in every of a number of examples of felony parts utilizing digital property for sinister agendas. Nevertheless, the blockchain’s transparency and open entry to on-chain transactions have allowed securities businesses to trace stolen wealth in these instances.
As crypto.information reported on March 12, the U.S. Division of Justice secured a responsible verdict in opposition to Bitcoin Fog founder Roman Sterlingov.
The 33-year-old Swedish-Russian nationwide was convicted of obscuring $400 million in suspicious Bitcoin transactions by way of his crypto-mixing service. $78 million was instantly linked to illicit drug gross sales on the darkish internet.