Stay informed with free updates
Simply sign up to the Cryptocurrencies myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.
A British-Chinese woman accused of laundering bitcoin derived from a huge investment fraud in China has denied that she knew the cryptocurrency was the proceeds of crime, a court in London heard on Monday.
Jian Wen, 42, has been charged with three counts of money laundering on behalf of her former employer, Yadi Zhang. Zhang is a fugitive from the authorities in Beijing who allege she stole approximately £5bn in China between 2014 and 2017. Her whereabouts are unknown.
Wen, who has pleaded not guilty, is accused of knowing or suspecting she was handling the proceeds of crime and helping to convert some of the cryptocurrency into cash, jewellery, property and credit on prepaid cards.
She told the court that she had “very basic” knowledge of bitcoin and was unaware of the existence of two of the three cryptocurrency wallets the prosecution alleges she had used to launder the money.
Wen, who has dual British and Chinese citizenship, admitted she was in control of the other wallet but said she was unaware the funds in it were stolen. “I did not know or suspect that the bitcoin was from the crime. No idea at all,” she told Southwark Crown Court.
Speaking in a shaking voice, and occasionally crying, she said she was “ashamed”. She told the jury she was close to Zhang, who had deceived her. “I think I was duped . . . I was used badly.”
The defendant, who married a British citizen and moved to the UK in 2007, talked about how she had to deal with several abusive relationships before meeting Zhang in September 2017 in a London hotel.
Zhang said she had jewellery and antique businesses in Thailand and China, and was looking for an assistant to help her set up a business in the UK, Wen told the jury.
Within a few weeks of the first meeting, Wen said she moved into a six-bedroom luxury manor house in north London with Zhang.
Wen told the jury she had “no idea” where Zhang was now. She had talked to Zhang the night before her former employer was meant to be interviewed by police in October 2020. Zhang did not attend the interview.
Earlier in the trial, which started in late January, the court heard that the Metropolitan Police seized more than £1.4bn worth of bitcoin derived from the alleged fraud in China, one of the largest seizures of the cryptocurrency by law enforcement globally.
Prosecutors allege that Zhang entrusted Wen with the access details for the digital wallets containing the bitcoin. Prosecutors previously told the court Wen had conducted Google searches, including “Can suspension [suspicion] of money laundering come search your home?” and “extradition for criminal offences”.
The trial continues.
