A woman named Jian Wen was sentenced to nearly seven years in prison by the Southwark Crown Court in London for money laundering Bitcoin linked to a $6.4 billion investment fraud in China. Wen was found guilty of laundering significant amounts of Bitcoin associated with a $5.6 billion fraud scheme. She was convicted of laundering around 150 Bitcoin for a Chinese woman between 2017 and 2022, with law enforcement seizing over 61,000 Bitcoin valued at $4 billion. Wen, who holds British and Chinese citizenship, claimed innocence and is currently appealing her conviction, presenting herself as a victim who followed instructions from another woman without knowing the fraudulent origins of the funds.
During Wen’s sentencing, Judge Sally-Ann Hales remarked that the offense was sophisticated and involved substantial planning, stating that Wen knew what she was dealing with. Despite her claims of innocence, the prosecution argued that Wen was motivated by greed and financial gain, playing a decisive role in managing the crypto wallet connected to the laundering scheme. Prosecutors described her as a “front person” used by the fraud mastermind to convert stolen funds into Bitcoin, move them out of China, and convert them back into cash. Despite maintaining her innocence, Wen was found guilty of one count of money laundering in March, while two other counts resulted in a hung jury.
Wen, a former fast-food worker, underwent a significant lifestyle change, moving from living in the basement of an east London Chinese takeaway to residing in a six-bedroom mansion and indulging in luxury shopping sprees at Harrods after she began working for the now-arrested female fugitive. Her lawyer refuted the fraud allegations, claiming she acquired significant holdings of Bitcoin through lawful means. Judge Hales emphasized that while there was no evidence of Wen’s involvement in the underlying fraud, she was aware she was dealing with criminal proceeds. Wen was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison for a single count of money laundering.
The European Union recently passed a new anti-money laundering regulation (AMLR) targeting crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) to regulate and detect money laundering and terrorist financing activities. These regulations will impact crypto exchanges and brokers operating under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) and introduce enhanced due diligence measures. Obligated entities such as crypto-asset managers will be required to report suspicious activities to Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs), with a new supervisory body, AMLA, overseeing implementation. This broad AML/CFT framework applies to all financial institutions, including CASPs, and is not specific to the crypto industry.
