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A British-Chinese language girl has been sentenced to 6 years and 8 months in jail for laundering bitcoin derived from a £5bn fraud in China dedicated by way of her employer, London’s Southwark Crown Courtroom heard on Friday.
Jian Wen, 42, was once convicted in March of 1 depend of cash laundering in the name of a Chinese language girl, Yadi Zhang, her former boss.
Right through a raid on Wen and Zhang’s Hampstead mansion in 2018 London’s Metropolitan Police seized units containing 61,000 bitcoin, these days importance greater than £3bn.
It was once one of the most largest crypto hauls by way of a regulation enforcement company any place on the earth. The Met had to begin with investigated Wen with regards to an tried acquire of a London mansion with the bitcoin.
Her then-boss stole the budget in a £5bn fraud in China, consistent with UK prosecutors. Zhang’s legal professional has mentioned she is “wholly innocent”.
Wen was once convicted of laundering probably the most proceeds between 2017 and 2022 later two trials and acquittals on 10 alternative counts. She was once now not accused of involvement within the unedited alleged fraud.
Pass judgement on Sally-Ann Hales, KC, mentioned: “I am in no doubt that . . . you knew, rather than merely suspected, that you were dealing in the proceeds of crime.”
“This was an offence which was sophisticated and involved significant planning,” she added.
Wen, who was once accused of serving to to transform probably the most bitcoin into money, jewelry and alternative luxurious pieces, in addition to feature, pleaded now not accountable and persistently denied that she knew her employer’s budget had been stolen.
“Miss Wen was a fragile and desperate woman” who was once “undoubtedly duped and used”, Mark Harries KC, her legal professional, instructed the courtroom. The courtroom heard that Wen had now not unmistakable her 16-year-old son in 26 months. She has been in custody since March 2022.
“I do not agree with your counsel’s categorisation of you as a victim,” the pass judgement on mentioned.
Wen has admitted that she was once in regulate of a bitcoin pockets however claimed that she was once blind to the cryptocurrency’s supply.
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Gillian Jones KC, performing on behalf of the Crown Prosecution Carrier, mentioned Wen’s transactions had been “set against a background of warning that Miss Wen was given as to the source of the bitcoin”.
Between 2017 and 2020, Wen became to a line of middlemen to transform the cryptocurrency into alternative belongings, together with Dubai-based property agent Michael James Burke who helped her promote bitcoin via his corporations within the Seychelles and in Switzerland, and buy houses in Dubai.
The Met is these days operating via a civil fix procedure to forfeit the overall seized budget and is in conversation with Chinese language government.
“The Chinese side has already engaged in international law enforcement co-operation with the UK concerning this case,” the Chinese language Ministry of Overseas Affairs instructed the Monetary Instances.
It added: “Law enforcement agencies from both countries are actively advancing the work related to chasing fugitives and recovering assets.”
The co-operation comes later a gaggle representing sufferers of the alleged £5bn rip-off in China submitted a letter ultimate past to the overseas ministry in Beijing asking it to forming negotiations with the United Kingdom executive for fix of bitcoin purchased with their cash.
