Woman Convicted of Money Laundering in £5 Billion Fraud Case Involving Bitcoin Conversion

A woman accused of laundering proceeds from a £5 billion ($6.3 billion) fraud through bitcoin conversion has been convicted of one count of money laundering after a trial in a London court.

The defendant, Wen Jian, 42, was found guilty by jurors on Monday at Southwark Crown Court. Prosecutors alleged that she played a role in concealing the origin of funds reportedly stolen from nearly 130,000 Chinese investors in fraudulent schemes spanning from 2014 to 2017. Wen was not implicated in the primary fraud, which prosecutors asserted was orchestrated by a woman known as Zhang Yadi, whose real name is Qian Zhimin.

The trial revealed that British police had seized wallets containing more than 61,000 bitcoins as part of their investigation. This seizure marked one of the largest cryptocurrency confiscations by law enforcement worldwide. Prosecutors disclosed that when authorities accessed the bitcoins in 2021, they were valued at around £1.4 billion. However, their worth has since skyrocketed to over £3 billion.

Wen denied three counts of money laundering during the trial. She testified that Zhang had assured her of possessing independent wealth and that Wen was unaware of any illicit activities. Despite her denial, jurors convicted her on one count, but they were unable to reach a verdict on the other two charges.

Prosecutor Max Baines announced on Wednesday that the Crown Prosecution Service would not pursue a retrial on the unresolved counts, allowing the guilty verdict to be reported.

Wen is set to be sentenced next month solely for the count of money laundering on which she was found guilty. The outcome of this case sheds light on the increasing complexities surrounding financial crimes involving cryptocurrency and underscores the ongoing efforts by law enforcement agencies to combat such offenses.

By fLEXI tEAM