Jian Wen, a woman who was found guilty of laundering large quantities of Bitcoin connected to a purported $5.6 billion investment scam in China, received a sentence of six years and eight months in prison.
Wen, a former fast food worker turned wealthy, was found guilty of one count of money laundering for a Chinese woman between 2017 and 2022 to roughly 150 Bitcoin. The authorities seized over 61,000 Bitcoin, now valued at over $4 billion, as part of a larger operation.
“This was an offense which was sophisticated and involved significant planning,” Judge Sally-Ann Hales stated on Friday while imposing the sentence. “I am in no doubt that you knew what you were dealing with.”
Wen, a dual citizen of China and the UK, denies all accusations against her and contests her verdict. She claims to be a victim and states she acted on orders from the alleged “mastermind.” Her lawyer asserts she was unaware of the deception behind the money and was not involved in the main Chinese scam.
Rather, her attorney Mark Harries stated during the Friday hearing that she was “duped and used” and that she “bitterly regrets her involvement” with the purported mastermind. The prosecution argued that Wen made decisions for the cryptocurrency wallet under her control out of financial gain and greed.
Wen was found guilty of money laundering in March after two months of trial testimony, which included WhatsApp conversations with the supposed mastermind.
The trial made public the role that middlemen in Dubai and London played in buying assets in the UK, Europe, and Dubai as well as laundering Bitcoin.
Wen, 42, went from working for the now-arrested fugitive to living in a magnificent mansion and going on opulent shopping sprees at Harrods. She had previously lived in a London basement. Her attorney, meanwhile, refutes claims of fraud, stating the woman’s Bitcoin assets were acquired legitimately.
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