British citizen convicted in $6 billion Bitcoin fraud conspiracy
Wen Jian, a defendant in a London court, has been found guilty of one count of Bitcoin money laundering in connection with a $6 billion Chinese investment fraud. According to local media SCMP, a UK jury found sufficient evidence linking Jian to Qian Zhimin, the alleged mastermind behind a multi-year Bitcoin fraud scheme that affected around 130,000 investors in China. Between 2017 and 2022, Zhimin reportedly used seven offices across Asia to raise billions in illegal funds. Jian claims that Zhimin recruited her under false pretenses in September 2017. Despite denying any wrongdoing, Jian was proven to have lived a lavish lifestyle funded by fraudulent assets and was aware of Zhimin’s activities. The pair allegedly laundered Bitcoin to acquire assets in Dubai, Europe, and the UK for a minimum of three years. London police seized $2.2 billion in Bitcoin during a raid in 2018, which they believe belonged to Zhimin and Jian. London’s Metropolitan Police detective chief superintendent, Jason Prins, stated that this outcome demonstrates efforts to combat international financial crimes involving cryptocurrencies. This case is one of many instances where criminals have used digital assets for illicit purposes. However, the transparency and accessibility of blockchain technology have enabled law enforcement agencies to trace stolen funds in these cases. In a separate incident, the US Department of Justice recently secured a guilty verdict against Roman Sterlingov, the founder of Bitcoin Fog, for obscuring $400 million in suspicious Bitcoin transactions through his crypto-mixing service, with $78 million directly linked to illegal drug sales on the dark web.
