How Jian Wen went from stir-frying noodles to shopping sprees to Harrods to now behind bars.
- Jian Wen received a sentence of six years and eight months in jail from the UK Court.
- The UK Court implicated Wen in the largest cryptocurrency money-laundering case ever prosecuted in the UK.
- Wen maintains she was merely a pawn in the $6 billion fraud.
Jian Wen, a 42-year-old British citizen and former fast-food worker, experienced a drastic shift in her life. From the humble basement of an East London Chinese takeaway, she moved up to a lavish six-bedroom mansion in the suburbs. Her routine went from stir-frying noodles to indulging in luxury shopping sprees at Harrods. However, this rags to riches story recently took a dark turn, revealing a side of Wen that was far from glamorous.
UK Convicts Woman For Laundering Bitcoin
On Friday, May 24, the Southwark Crown Court in London dealt a heavy blow to Jian Wen, sentencing her to six years and eight months behind bars for her role in laundering 150 BTC, worth $11 million, Bloomberg reported.
The UK Court revealed that the bitcoins were just a drop in the bucket of a much larger investment fraud in which authorities unearthed 61,000 BTC, worth a jaw-dropping $4.2 billion, marking the biggest cryptocurrency money-laundering case ever prosecuted in the UK.
Wen’s defense? Her lawyers insisted that she was merely a pawn in the game. Wen claimed to have laundered the bitcoins on behalf of a Chinese woman between 2017 and 2022, stressing that the woman was the “mastermind” behind the operation. Wen pleaded that she had no idea the funds were connected to fraud.
Despite her claims of innocence, the court wasn’t buying it. Judge Sally-Ann Hales minced no words, accusing Wen of being fully aware.
“This was an offense which was sophisticated and involved significant planning. I am in no doubt that you knew what you were dealing with.” Judge Hales claimed while handing the sentence.
Despite the Judge’s sentencing, Wen consistently denied all allegations against her and is appealing her conviction. Her lawyers assert that she was “duped and used” and she “bitterly regrets her involvement” with the alleged mastermind, maintaining she was nothing more than a pawn.
