Woman Convicted in Bitcoin Laundering Linked to Alleged $6B China Fraud

A United Kingdom (UK) citizen, Jian Wen, has been convicted of laundering significant amounts of Bitcoin (BTC) for a Chinese fugitive linked to an alleged $6 billion investment scam.

The London jury determined that between 2017 and 2022, Jian Wen assisted her former employer in laundering the funds.

Despite her denial of the charges and insistence that her former employer, Zhang Yadi, also known as Qian Zhimin, claimed independent wealth, the jury found her guilty of one count of money laundering on 18 March at Southwark Crown Court.

However, they were unable to reach a verdict on two other counts.

During the trial's commencement, Prosecutor Gillian Jones revealed that Yadi entered Britain in 2017 using a false St. Kitts and Nevis passport, shortly after Chinese authorities initiated an investigation into the fraud.

To transfer the stolen funds out of China, which had been converted into bitcoin, Yadi needed to convert them back into cash and employed Jian Wen as a "front person," according to Gillian.

Prosecutors argued that Jian Wen should have been aware that Yadi's funds were unlawfully obtained, given her reluctance to travel to countries with extradition treaties with China.

Good Intention, Bad Execution?

Jian Wen, however, asserted that her actions were motivated by a desire to provide a better life for her son.

Her attorney, Mark Harries, depicted Zhang as an "expert criminal supervillian" who consistently deceived Jian Wen regarding the money's origin.

According to Mark, Yadi "used her and abandoned her because she was dependable and expendable," when she disappeared in 2020.

Yadidi is accused of deceiving approximately 130,000 investors in China, resulting in nearly $6 billion in illicit gains.

This is not Jian Wen's first encounter with such charges; she was previously acquitted in a separate trial.

In 2018, British authorities seized over £1.7 billion ($2.2 billion) worth of Bitcoin associated with the alleged fraud.

She is scheduled for sentencing on 10 May.