- A British-Chinese woman has been sentenced to more than six years in prison for money laundering.
- Police seized 61,000 bitcoin (now worth more than $4 billion) from Jian Wen's home in 2018.
- Authorities had been on high alert after Wen tried to buy a luxury home in London worth more than $50 million.
A British-Chinese woman has been sentenced to more than six years in prison for her role in a Bitcoin money laundering fraud.
Jian Wen, 42, was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court in London on March 20. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said in a press release at the time:
She was sentenced Friday to 80 months in prison.
Wen first came to the attention of authorities after making multiple attempts to buy luxury homes in London between 2017 and 2018. The three properties were valued at £23.5 million ($29.7 million), £12.5 million ($15.8 million) and £4.5 million ($5.7 million), respectively.
The subsequent investigation culminated in police seizing a device containing 61,000 bitcoin (worth more than $4 billion today) in 2018, the largest cryptocurrency seizure in UK history.
The funds are said to have come from an investment fraud in China led by her “employer,” Yadi Zhang.
In her ruling, Judge Sally Ann Hales in Kansas City said more than 128,000 investors pumped 40 billion yuan (about $5.6 billion) into the scheme.
“Some of the proceeds from this scam were converted into Bitcoin, loaded into cryptocurrency wallets and smuggled out of China on laptops,” she added.
According to a CPS press release, Wen was convicted of converting a “substantial amount” of Bitcoin into cash and other assets on behalf of his superiors.
Despite reporting income of £12,800 ($16,200) and £5,979 ($7,600) in 2015 and 2016, respectively, Wen moved to a six-bedroom property in London in 2017 and was paying more than £17,000 ($21,600) a month for the rent.
They claim that Mr Wen and his bosses run an international jewellery business with Mr Wen acting as a “front person”, that they also paid for Mr Wen's son to move from China to Britain to attend private school and bought two properties in Dubai.
But her attempt to buy a luxury home in London failed anti-money laundering checks and the sale fell apart when she was unable to explain the source of her funds.
While Wen was not initially suspected of being involved in the fraud, Hales told Wen: “I have no doubt that by 22 June 2019 I knew, not merely suspected, that you were dealing with the proceeds of crime.”
“Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are increasingly being used by organised criminals to disguise and transfer assets so that fraudsters can reap the benefits of their criminal activity,” Chief Prosecutor Andrew Penhale said in March.
“This case, which involves the largest cryptocurrency seizure in the UK, shows the scale of criminal profits that can be gained by fraudsters,” he added.
