A leading figure in China’s digital currency development has been ousted due to corruption charges. Yao Qian, a key player in the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) project, was found to have accepted significant cryptocurrency bribes and engaged in other illicit activities.
The investigation revealed that Qian had leveraged his influential position to support specific technology service providers for personal gain. It was found that Yao Qian had abandoned his original mission, was not political, coveted fame, regarded himself as a financial technology expert, and spared no effort to support specific technology service providers for his own selfishness
According to local media, he used to receive cryptocurrency payments, property, premium liquor, luxurious gifts, and dinners, and illegally borrowed money in exchange for his regulatory power.
In 2017, Qian was appointed as the first head of the People’s Bank of China’s (PBOC) Digital Currency Research Institute, where he worked on developing the Digital Yuan. Since 2018, Qian has been working at the China Securities Regulatory Commission after serving China’s Central Bank.
In his personal opinions about CBDCs, he has suggested that they could one day run on Ethereum (ETH) and incorporate smart contract functionality at the International Financial Forum (IFF) held in Beijing in 2021.
Yao Qian’s case has been referred to local authorities for prosecution. The executive had been under investigation since April 2024
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