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$6 Billion Fraud and Money Laundering Using Bitcoin: Woman Sentenced to Prison
Alex Dovbnja
A British-Chinese woman who helped launder a criminal mastermind’s illicit funds has been sentenced to six years behind bars
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A 42-year-old British-Chinese woman who pleaded guilty to converting Bitcoin into various assets, including real estate and jewelry, has been sentenced to six years and eight months behind bars, Reuters relationships.
Jian Wen initially faced up to 14 years behind bars on various charges. In March she was found guilty of a money laundering charge.
When his home was raided in 2018, the Metropolitan Police and an anti-money laundering investigator discovered a safe with 61,000 Bitcoin.
Yadi Zhang, Wen’s roommate, disappeared after the search. She was revealed to be the mastermind behind a massive money laundering scheme after defrauding 130,000 Chinese investors and fleeing to the UK.
Wen, a former takeaway worker, was hired by Zhang to use her as a “point person”. The latter claimed to be responsible for the jewelry sector.
Investigators found that Zhang, whose real name is Zhimin Qian, had wild fantasies of becoming the queen of a small European country. She was willing to spend at least a whopping $5 million for her crown, according to the criminal mastermind’s personal diaries.
Wen, who worked in the takeaway, insisted he had no knowledge of the massive fraud scheme. According to Wen, Zhang told her that she was “independently rich”. She insisted that she simply wanted a better future for her son, who started attending private school.
Zhang reportedly managed to escape with around $250 million. The “supervillain”, who remains at large, was slapped with an Interpol red notice.
About the author
Alex Dovbnja
Alex Dovbnya (aka AlexMorris) is a cryptocurrency expert, trader and journalist with extensive experience covering everything related to the burgeoning industry, from price analysis to Blockchain disruption. Alex has authored more than 1,000 stories for U.Today, CryptoComes, and other fintech media. He is particularly interested in regulatory trends around the world that are shaping the future of digital assets; he can be contacted at alex.dovbnya@u.today.