Bitcoin
British-Chinese bitcoin money launderer jailed for over 6 years
Unlock Editor’s Digest for free
FT editor Roula Khalaf selects her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.
An Anglo-Chinese woman was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison for laundering bitcoin derived from a £5 billion fraud in China committed by her employer, London’s Southwark Crown Court heard on Friday.
Jian Wen, 42, was convicted in March of one count of money laundering on behalf of a Chinese woman, Yadi Zhang, his former boss.
During a attack on Wen and Zhang’s Hampstead mansion In 2018, London’s Metropolitan Police seized devices containing 61,000 bitcoins, currently valued at over £3 billion.
It was one of the largest cryptocurrency purchases made by a law enforcement agency anywhere in the world. O He knew initially investigated Wen in relation to an attempt to purchase a London mansion with bitcoin.
His then boss stole the funds in a £5bn fraud in China, according to UK prosecutors. Zhang’s lawyer said she is “completely innocent.”
Wen was convicted of laundering part of the profits between 2017 and 2022, after two trials and acquittals on 10 other charges. She was not charged with involvement in the original alleged fraud.
Judge Sally-Ann Hales, KC, said: “I have no doubt that . . . you knew, rather than just suspected, that you were dealing in the proceeds of crime.”
“This was a sophisticated crime and involved significant planning,” she added.
Wen, who was accused of helping convert some of the bitcoin into cash, jewelry and other luxury items, as well as property, has pleaded not guilty and has consistently denied that she knew her employer’s funds had been stolen.
“Miss Wen was a fragile and desperate woman” who was “undoubtedly deceived and used,” Mark Harries KC, her lawyer, told the court. The court heard Wen had not seen his 16-year-old son for 26 months. She has been in custody since March 2022.
“I do not agree with your lawyer’s classification of you as a victim,” said the judge.
Wen admitted that he controlled a bitcoin wallet, but claimed that he had no knowledge of the cryptocurrency’s origins.
Recommended
Gillian Jones KC, acting on behalf of the Crown Prosecution Service, said Wen’s dealings were “set against a backdrop of caution that Miss Ms. Wen was informed about the origin of bitcoin.”
Between 2017 and 2020, Wen turned to a series of intermediaries to convert the cryptocurrency into other assets, including Dubai-based real estate agent Michael James Burke, who helped her sell bitcoin through his companies in the Seychelles and Switzerland, and buying properties in Dubai.
The Met is currently working on a civil recovery process to confiscate the full amount of seized funds and is in communication with the Chinese authorities.
“The Chinese side has already engaged in international law enforcement cooperation with the United Kingdom regarding this case,” the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the Financial Times.
He added: “The law enforcement agencies of both countries are actively advancing work related to the pursuit of fugitives and the recovery of assets.”
The cooperation comes after a group representing victims of China’s alleged £5 billion scam sent a letter last month to the Foreign Office in Beijing asking it to begin negotiations with the UK government over the recovery of bitcoins. purchased with your money.
Bitcoin
‘This is huge’ — Billionaire Mark Cuban issues ‘incredible’ Bitcoin and crypto prediction amid price slump
Bitcoin
Bitcoin
came back with a vengeance this year when former President Donald Trump Cryptocurrency boosts US presidential election in November with ‘revolutionary’ plan.
The price of bitcoin has surged to more than its all-time high in recent months, surpassing $70,000 per bitcoin and triggering a wave of mega-optimistic predictions about the price of bitcointhough it fell again this week, falling below $65,000 after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady.
Now, as Elon Musk suddenly breaks his silence on bitcoin and cryptocurrenciesBillionaire investor Mark Cuban called a California plan to digitize 42 million car titles using blockchain an “incredible step forward” and “huge” for cryptocurrencies.
Sign up for free CryptoCodex now—A daily five-minute newsletter for traders, investors, and crypto curious people that will keep you up to date and ahead of the bitcoin and crypto bull market
Mark Cuban, famous Shark Tank investor and billionaire owner of the NBA team Dallas Mavericks, has… [+] called a cryptocurrency update “amazing” amid bitcoin’s price slump.
Getty Images
The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has digitized 42 million car titles using blockchain, it was reported by Reuters, through technology company Oxhead Alpha on the Avalanche blockchain and designed to detect fraud and facilitate the securities transfer process.
“This is an incredible development for crypto,” Cuban, best known as an investor on TV’s Shark Tank and owner of the Dallas Mavericks NBA team, posted on X, joking that U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler could sue the state as part of his hostility toward cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.
“The reason this is huge for crypto is because people who hold the tokens will have an app with an Avalanche wallet,” Cuban said. “Tens of millions of Californians having and using a crypto wallet in the next five years, or however long it takes, normalizes the use of wallets and crypto.”
John Wu, president of Avalanche developer Ava Labs, told Reuters that California’s DMV is “creating a wallet that you can download on your phone.”
Sign up for CryptoCodex now—A free daily newsletter for the crypto-curious
Bitcoin’s price has rallied this year, triggering a wave of bullish bitcoin price predictions from… [+] people like billionaire Mark Cuban.
Forbes Digital Assets
Last month, Cuban predicted that if the US dollar falls as the global reserve currency, bitcoin could become “a global ‘safe haven’” and a “global currency.” potentially sending the price of bitcoin to a much higher level.
According to Cuban, bitcoin could become what its most ardent supporters “envision” — a means “of protecting our economies… This is already happening in countries facing hyperinflation.”
The price of bitcoin has skyrocketed over the past year, largely due to the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, leading a bitcoin attack on Wall Street.
Bitcoin
MicroStrategy’s Cash Flow Amid Bitcoin Rally Raises Some Eyebrows
Analysts are starting to pay more attention than usual to Bitcoin-proxy’s underlying enterprise software business MicroStrategy Inc.
How to better invest cash generated from operations is what originally prompted co-founder and CEO Michael Saylor to turn to Bitcoin four years ago. Since then, the Tysons Corner, Va.-based company has adopted a two-pronged strategy of investing in the cryptocurrency instead of traditional assets like short-term Treasuries and ramping up its software operations.
Bitcoin
Large Bitcoin (BTC) Holders Added $5.4 Billion Worth of BTC in July, Data Shows
Please note that our Privacy Policy, terms of use, cookiesIt is do not sell my personal information Has been updated.
CoinDesk is a awarded media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists follow a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk has been acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Optimistica regulated digital asset exchange. The Bullish Group is majority owned by Block.one; both companies have interests CoinDesk has a portfolio of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial board to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.
Bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) Hits Six-Week High After Trump’s Pro-Crypto Speech
Bitcoin has retreated from a six-week high as investors shift their focus to speculation the U.S. may sell seized tokens just days after Donald Trump vowed to create a government stockpile of the cryptocurrency if he is elected president again.
The US transferred $2 billion worth of Bitcoin to a new digital wallet address on Monday, blockchain research firm Arkham said in a publish on social media platform X. Market analysis firms have speculated that the tokens are from the Silk Road marketplace, where customers used virtual currencies to buy illegal drugs and hacking tools before it was shut down.
-
Videos9 months ago
Crypto News: Bitcoin, ETH Price, CPI Print, PYTH, WIF & MORE!!
-
Videos9 months ago
Crypto News: Bitcoin Price, ETF, ETH, WIF, HNT & MORE!!
-
DeFi9 months ago
Metasphere Labs announces follow-up event regarding
-
Videos9 months ago
Solana price potential?! Check out THIS update if you own SOL!!
-
Videos8 months ago
Who Really CONTROLS THE MARKETS!! Her plans REVEALED!!
-
DeFi6 months ago
Pump.Fun Overtakes Ethereum in Daily Revenue: A New Leader in DeFi
-
DeFi6 months ago
Degens Can Now Create Memecoins From Tweets
-
News6 months ago
New bill pushes Department of Veterans Affairs to examine how blockchain can improve its work
-
News6 months ago
Lawmakers, regulators to study impact of blockchain and cryptocurrency in Alabama • Alabama Reflector
-
Bitcoin6 months ago
1 Top Cryptocurrency That Could Surge Over 4,300%, According to This Wall Street Firm
-
Ethereum8 months ago
Comment deux frères auraient dérobé 25 millions de dollars lors d’un braquage d’Ethereum de 12 secondes • The Register
-
Videos8 months ago
Cryptocurrency News: BTC Rally, ETH, SOL, FTM, USDT Recover & MORE!