Britain’s biggest Bitcoin scam case has resulted in the prosecution of a former takeaway worker, who illegally sat on £2bn worth of the crypto currency.
A lavish multi-million pound house in the heart of Hampstead and jet-setting around the world was the life of Jian Wen, 42, for years.
But this week, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced she had been convicted after investigating her role in a massive international scam, linked to another Chinese national.
The CPS said Wen, who used to live above a Chinese restaurant had been under investigation after the seizure of Bitcoin wallets, with an initial estimated value of more than £2bn.
This is the largest seizure of its kind in UK history.
Jan Wen
Wen was convicted at Southwark Crown Court, with prosecutors telling the court about the scale of the crime and lack of any evidence as to how it was acquired.
It said the Bitcoin was linked to an investment fraud in China, and the original fraud was done by another suspect, who is at large.
According to the CPS, Wen was responsible for converting large amounts of Bitcoin into cash on behalf of the global fraudster.
After her prosecution, the CPS said Wen had lived a ‘modest’ lifestyle in Leeds earning just £12,800 in 2015 and £5,979 in 2016.
Upon meeting another Chinese national, she moved into a six-bed property in London with rental costs of £17,000 a month.
It added that two women were the front-facing end of a global jewellery business, with Wen being English-speaking.
Her son was sent to private school in the UK off the back of her fortune, and she later said she’d been gifted £15m-worth of Bitcoin by her ‘employer.’
She made efforts to buy property in London valued between £4.5 and £23.5m in the last decade, but was stalled by difficulties converting Bitcoin into cash, including from anti money laundering regulations.
The CPS also said she travelled extensively, which helped her convert Bitcoin into cash, and even purchased two properties in Dubai, amounting to more than half-a-million pounds.
During the investigation and trial, she denied knowing that the Bitcoin was derived from criminality and fraud.
The CPS used its powers to freeze her property through the High Court, while it recovers the wealth.
Wen’s former lavish home
Andrew Penhale, Chief Crown Prosecutor, said: “Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are increasingly being used by organised criminals to disguise and transfer assets, so that fraudsters may enjoy the benefits of their criminal conduct. This case, involving the largest cryptocurrency seizure in the UK, illustrates the scale of criminal proceeds available to those fraudsters.
“Although the original fraudster remains at large, the Metropolitan Police and CPS have successfully secured a money laundering conviction against Jian Wen, an individual employed to launder criminal proceeds. The CPS will now work to ensure, through criminal confiscation and civil proceedings, that the criminal assets remain beyond the fraudsters’ reach.
“The CPS is committed to working closely with law enforcement and investigatory authorities, to bring to justice individuals and companies who engage in laundering criminal proceeds through cryptocurrency.”
Adrian Foster, Chief Crown Prosecutor said: “The CPS has used the full range of our criminal and non-conviction based civil asset recovery powers, to firstly freeze and then look to seize the very large quantity of cryptocurrency and other assets, used by Wen and her “employer” to fund their extravagant lifestyle.
The CPS found £2bn worth of bitcoin during the investigation
“We have worked with the Police to obtain freezing orders preserving all the seized cryptocurrency, and a CPS-led civil recovery investigation is running to establish that the frozen cryptocurrency is criminal property and to seek its forfeiture.”
Detective Chief Superintendent Jason Prins, Metropolitan Police, whose team led the investigation, said: “Thanks to the hard work and perseverance of highly skilled detectives in the Met, we have been able to disrupt a sophisticated economic crime operation – the sheer scale of which demonstrates how international criminals seek to exploit cryptocurrency online.
“Our team have helped secure justice today and have persevered to trace this Bitcoin and identify the criminality it was linked to.
“Today’s verdict and lengthy five-year investigation demonstrates that we’ll leave no stone unturned in our pursuit to catch criminals who look to enjoy the proceeds of illicit funds – no matter how complex the case.”
Patrick Rappo, a partner at Reed Smith, said: “The case demonstrates that if enforcement agencies are going to succeed in going after enablers and launders across the world, we will need international cooperation. Although Jian Wen has been found guilty, there is still a risk that this is something of a pyrrhic victory if the assets in question can’t be recovered and returned to the original investors.”