Hospitality Worker Sentenced 6.8 Years in Prison for Laundering  $2.5B Bitcoin

A court in the United Kingdom has ordered a hospitality worker to serve six years and eight months in prison for engaging in money laundering. The court accused Jian Wen of engaging in unlawful activities. The court found Wen guilty of laundering over $2.5 billion of crypto.

Hospitality Worker to Serve 6.8 Years in Prison

The court report noted that Wen converted fiat currency to crypto assets to conceal her unlawful activities. Even though the source of her income was unknown prosecutor raised red flag after Wen changed to living lavish lifestyle. 

The court noted that Wen had moved from living in a small apartment to a six-bedroom North London mansion. In her new mansion, Wen’s monthly rent amounted to $21,420.

She later purchased new properties and dressed in expensive attires and jewelry. In January, the law enforcers hinted that the former hospitality worker was about to buy a mansion worth $30 million.

Even though acquiring the multimillion-dollar house did not materialize, Wen attempted to buy several houses in London. Wen’s sudden change of lifestyle prompted the law enforcers to investigate her source of income. 

The probing team engaged in a thorough exercise to assess Wen’s digital files and electronic devices. The law enforcer stated that most files linked to the embattled hospitality worker were in Mandarin.

Chinese National Charged with Money Laundering

Upon inquiring Wen source of income she claimed to generate the funds under question from Bitcoin mining. The hospitality worker complained that she needed help to pass the UK money laundering checks necessary for owning specific properties.

The UK police confiscated $2.5 billion of Bitcoin owned by Wen. The law enforcers labeled the seizure as one of the largest in the history of the UK. 

The probing team stated that Wen’s incident mirrors the Bitfinex 2016 attack that impacted the loss of $2.5 billion of crypto assets. 

The law enforcers noted that Wen and Bitfinex hackers were arrested while attempting to launder illicit funds. In August 2023, the US law enforcers detained the man behind the Bitfinex multi-dollar attack.

After interrogation with the US hacker, Ilya Lichtenstein and his wife  Heather Morgan claimed to convert the stolen crypto assets to gold. At the same time, the rest of the amount was used to acquire property. 

Rise of Crypto Crime

The US law enforcers noted that Wen and Lichtenstein used the stolen funds to fund their lavish lifestyle. From the investigations the law enforcers observed that criminals used third-party vulnerabilities to launch malicious attacks on crypto firms.

However, advancements in decentralized technology have played a critical role in identifying and tracking criminals in the crypto sector.

A statement from the chief prosecutor, Andrew Penhale, revealed that criminals commonly used crypto to conduct their unlawful activities. Penhale’s statement contradicts the US Treasury Department’s arguments that cash remains the preferred option for laundering illicit funds.