Chinese takeaway worker Jian Wen jailed for money laundering after £3bn Bitcoin seizure
A former Chinese takeaway worker found guilty of money laundering after police seized more than £3bn worth of Bitcoin has been jailed for more than six years.
Jian Wen, 42, came to the attention of police when she tried to buy some of London’s most expensive properties, including a £23.5m seven-bedroom Hampstead mansion with a swimming pool and a nearby £12.5m home with a cinema and gym.
The investigation led to the UK’s biggest-ever cryptocurrency seizure when more than 61,000 Bitcoin were discovered in digital wallets.
The cryptocurrency was worth £1.4bn at the time but its value has now risen to more than £3bn, while 23,308 Bitcoin, now worth more than £1bn, linked to the probe remains in circulation.
The Bitcoin allegedly came from a £5bn investment scam carried out in China between 2014 and 2017.
Wen was not involved in the fraud but was said to have acted as a “front person” to help disguise the source of the money, some of which had been used to buy cryptocurrency and smuggled out of China on laptops.
Wen rented a £17,000-a-month house in Hampstead. Pic: CPS
She was found guilty of one count of money laundering, relating to 150 Bitcoin, now worth nearly £8m, between October 2017 and January 2022 last month following a retrial at Southwark Crown Court.
Wen was jailed for six years and eight months today by Judge Sally-Ann Hales KC, who told her: “I am in no doubt you came to enjoy the better things in life.
“The evidence showed you and, to some extent, members of your family were generously rewarded for your service.”
The court heard Wen, who has been in custody as a Category A prisoner since 3 March 2022, plans to appeal the conviction.
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Mark Harries KC, defending, said she “was a victim long before she became a criminal” and “was undoubtedly duped and used” by the alleged mastermind of the operation.
Mr Harries said she was “plucked from the most humble of backgrounds”, working and living in “shabby Chinese restaurants” into a “lifestyle of luxury” funded by the Bitcoin.
Wen lived in a £5m six-bedroom house rented for £17,000 a month near Hampstead Heath and travelled the world, spending tens of thousands of pounds on designer clothes and shoes in Harrods.
She drove a £25,000 E-Class Mercedes and sent her son to the £6,000-a-term Heathside preparatory school, the court heard.
Wen visits the Lindt chocolate factory in Switzerland. Pic: Met Police
Wen tried to buy a Hampstead property. Pic: Met Police
She bought two apartments in Dubai for more than £500,000 and looked into buying a £10m 18th century Tuscan villa with a sea view.
But efforts to buy multimillion-pound properties in London triggered anti-money laundering checks and none of the purchases went ahead because the source of the Bitcoin could not be explained.
Wen, who had declared an income of just £5,979 in the 2016/17 financial year, could not explain the source of the funds and police first raided her home on 31 October 2018.
She accepted she was involved in an arrangement dealing with some of the cryptocurrency but said she did not know or suspect it was from the proceeds of crime.
The court heard that once the Bitcoin had been converted into fiat currency loaded on to black prepaid cards which could be used anywhere in the world.
Wen, who has a diploma in law and a business degree, was acquitted of a string of other money laundering charges and Mr Harries said she had wanted to make her and her son’s lives better, initially by legitimate means.
She was the “conduit”, with “her simple task the pressing of buttons for transactions of Bitcoin” and she had a “limited awareness of the extent of the criminal activity to which she had leant herself,” he said.
But prosecutor Gillian Jones KC said Wen was motivated by “greed” and her own “financial gain” not subjected to “coercion, intimidation or exploitation”.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has called on Sir Keir Starmer to sack Treasury minister Tulip Siddiq over allegations she lived in properties linked to allies of her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, the deposed prime minister of Bangladesh.
It comes after the current Bangladeshi leader, Muhammad Yunus, said London properties used by Ms Siddiq should be investigated.
He told the Sunday Times the properties should be handed back to his government if they were acquired through “plain robbery”.
Tory leader Ms Badenoch said: “It’s time for Keir Starmer to sack Tulip Siddiq.
“He appointed his personal friend as anti-corruption minister and she is accused herself of corruption.
“Now the government of Bangladesh is raising serious concerns about her links to the regime of Sheikh Hasina.”
Ms Siddiq insists she has “done nothing wrong”.
Her aunt was ousted from office in August following an uprising against her 20-year leadership and fled to India.
Ms Siddiq is also named with her aunt in Bangladesh court documents about meetings with the Russian government.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has called on Sir Keir to sack the minister
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As economic secretary to the Treasury, Ms Siddiq is responsible for policy on both the City and tackling corruption.
She referred herself to the prime minister’s ethics watchdog on Monday following the reports about the properties.
On the same day, the prime minister said: “Tulip Siddiq has acted entirely properly by referring herself to the independent adviser, as she’s now done, and that’s why we brought into being the new code.
“It’s to allow ministers to ask the adviser to establish the facts, and yes, I’ve got confidence in her, and that’s the process that will now be happening.”
Police in Aberdeen have widened the search area for two sisters who disappeared four days ago in the city.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both 32, were last seen on CCTV on Market Street after leaving their home on Tuesday at around 2.12am.
The sisters – who are part of a set of triplets and originally from Hungary – crossed the Victoria Bridge to the Torry area and turned right on to a footpath next to the River Dee.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti were last seen on CCTV in Market Street. Pic: Police Scotland/PA
They headed in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club but officers said there is no evidence to suggest the missing women left the immediate area.
Specialist search teams, police dogs and a marine unit have been trying to trace the pair.
The sisters crossed Victoria Bridge before walking along a footpath next to the River Dee
The pair were heading in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club on the south side of the River Dee
Further searches are being carried out towards the Port of Aberdeen’s South Harbour and Duthie Park.
Police Scotland said it is liaising with authorities in Hungary to support the relatives of the two sisters.
Chief Inspector Darren Bruce said: “Eliza and Henrietta’s family are understandably extremely worried about them and we are working tirelessly to find them.
“We are seriously concerned about them and have significant resources dedicated to the inquiry.”
The sisters, from Aberdeen city centre, are described as slim with long brown hair.
Henrietta Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Eliza Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Officers have requested businesses in and around the South Esplanade and Menzies Road area to review their CCTV footage for the early morning of Tuesday 7 January.
Police added they are keen to hear from anyone with dashcam footage from that time.
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