A Chinese woman has been sentenced to prison for her involvement in a colossal money laundering operation related to a multi-billion dollar fraud scheme. Wen Jian, as reported by Reuters, was found guilty of one count of money laundering in March and has now been sentenced to six years and eight months behind bars.
Prosecutors claim that Wen converted Bitcoin into cash and assets in order to conceal the origin of funds that were allegedly stolen from nearly 130,000 investors in a $6.4 billion wealth scheme that occurred in China between 2014 and 2017. The mastermind of the scheme is believed to be another woman who fled to Britain in 2017 when Chinese authorities initiated their investigation. Wen supposedly acted as a front person, assisting in the conversion of the stolen funds into Bitcoin to move them out of China.
Wen vehemently denied the money laundering charges, asserting that she had no knowledge of any criminal activity associated with Bitcoin. She maintained that her intention was simply to provide a better life for her son. However, prosecutors argued that she should have been aware that the money was obtained illegally.
Judge Sally-Ann Hales stated that there was no evidence indicating Wen’s involvement in the underlying fraud. Nevertheless, she reportedly emphasized to the 42-year-old that there was no doubt that she knew she was dealing with criminal proceeds.
This case involves one of the largest cryptocurrency seizures by law enforcement globally. In 2021, British police officers confiscated wallets containing over 61,000 BTC, valued at approximately $1.8 billion at the time. The seized Bitcoin is currently worth around $4.2 billion, considering Bitcoin’s current price of $69,227.61.
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