A Chinese national is reportedly being tried in Britain over an alleged $6.5 billion Bitcoin (BTC) fraud.
According to a new report from Reuters, the suspect converted BTC into cash and property in an attempt to launder money from a scheme that took place in China.
A woman, identified in the report as Wen Jian, is accused of attempting to conceal the fraudulent sources of the money, which was allegedly stolen from more than 100,000 Chinese residents between 2014 and 2017.
Jian now faces three counts of money laundering, which she denies. Prosecutors do not allege the 42-year-old was involved in the initial fraud.
According to London prosecutor Gillian Jones, the orchestrator of the fraud was also a beneficiary, identified as Qian Zhimin, a woman also known as Zhang Yadi.
After Chinese authorities began an investigation into the fraud in 2017, Zhang fled to Britain under the above assumed name. Although many involved in the fraudulent scheme have been arrested in China, Zhang’s whereabouts are still unknown.
According to the report, defrauded Chinese investors have not yet received their money back.
According to prosecutors, Wen acted as a “front person” to help conceal the source of the illegally obtained money. Zhang planned to launder the money through BTC and other properties.
Now a jury will decide whether Wen knew the money was stolen or not.
The process is expected to be completed by the end of March.
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Featured image: Shutterstock/jovan vitanovski/Chuenmanuse