Alex Dovbnya
A British-Chinese woman who helped to launder the ill-gotten funds of a criminal mastermind has been sentenced to six years behind bars
A 42-year-old British-Chinese woman who pleaded guilty to converting Bitcoin into various assets, including real estate and jewelry, has been sentenced to six years and eight months behind bars, Reuters reports.
Jian Wen was initially facing up to 14 years behind bars on various charges. She was found guilty on one money laundering-related charge in March.
When her house was searched back in 2018, the Metropolitan Police and a money-laundering investigator discovered a safety deposit box with 61,000 Bitcoins.
Yadi Zhang, Wen’s housemate, disappeared after the search. It turned out that she was the mastermind behind a massive money laundering scheme after defrauding 130,000 Chinese investors and fleeing to the UK.
Wen, a former takeaway worker, was hired by Zhang in order to use her as her “front person.” The latter claimed that she was in charge of the jewelry business.
Detectives discovered that Zhang, whose real name is Zhimin Qian, had crazy fantasies about becoming the queen of a small European country. She was prepared to spend at least a whopping $5 million on her crown, according to the personal diaries of the criminal mastermind.
Wen, who used to be a takeaway worker, insisted that she was not aware of the massive fraud scheme. According to Wen, Zhang told her that she was “independently wealthy.” She insisted that she simply wanted a better future for her son, who started attending a private school.
Zhang reportedly managed to flee with roughly $250 million. The “supervillain,” who remains at large, has been slapped with an Interpol red notice.