Crypto Queen accomplice sentenced for laundering Bitcoin

Jian Wen was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison for his involvement in a Bitcoin (BTC) money laundering scheme.

On October 31, 2018, police raided Wen’s home and found a wallet containing 61,000 Bitcoins. The value of seized BTC increased from £1.4 billion to over £3 billion ($4 billion) in that period.

Wen, 42, was allegedly recruited by Yadi Zhang (also known as Zhimin Qian and referred to as the “Crypto Queen”) to be the “front person” in the operation.

Zhang is accused of defrauding 130,000 Chinese investors of $5.6 billion between 2014 and 2017. Zhang was reportedly arrested in England earlier this month.

Wen sought to buy prestigious properties in London, such as a £23.5 million mansion in Hampstead and a £12.5 million estate with luxury amenities. These transactions triggered anti-money laundering checks and led to the purchases being canceled due to Wen’s failure to disclose the source of the BTC.

During his trial, Wen stated that he was unaware of the illegal source of the funds and was only trying to improve the lives of himself and his son. Prosecutors argued he acted for personal financial gain.

Wen was not accused of participating in the initial scam.

Last March, a jury convicted Wen on a money laundering count involving 150 BTC worth approximately £8 million ($10 million).

Judge Sally-Ann Hales announced that more than 128,000 investors contributed 40 billion Renminbi (about $5.6 billion) to the program.

“Part of the proceeds from this scam were converted into Bitcoin, transferred to a cryptocurrency wallet, and smuggled out of China using a laptop,” he explained.

Although Wen claimed an income of only £12,800 (about $16,200) in 2015 and £5,979 (about $7,600) in 2016, he upgraded to a six-bedroom property in London in 2017, earning £17,000 (about $21,600) a month. paid.

Wen and his employer allegedly ran an international jewelry business, with Wen acting as the “front man.” They also financed Wen’s son’s move from China to the UK to attend a private school and bought two properties in Dubai.

According to the CPS press release, Wen is guilty of converting “significant amounts” of Bitcoin into cash and other assets on behalf of his employer.

Cryptocurrency money laundering crackdown

Cryptocurrency laundering has significantly impacted investors by undermining the integrity of the digital asset market.

Criminals are taking advantage of the relative anonymity of cryptocurrencies to launder proceeds from a variety of crimes such as cybercrime, fraud and theft.

As recently reported by Crypto.news, Daren Li and Yicheng Zhang were arrested for laundering at least $73 million through shell companies linked to cryptocurrency investment schemes.

Their operations involved overseeing an international syndicate that laundered the proceeds of cryptocurrency investment scams.

Victims were tricked into transferring millions of dollars into U.S. bank accounts under the guise of a shell company.

The funds were then shifted to various domestic and international bank accounts and cryptocurrency platforms to conceal their origin, nature, ownership and control.

Li and Zhang are charged with money laundering and conspiracy to commit international money laundering, underscoring ongoing efforts to combat illegal activity in the cryptocurrency space.