Our selection of significant highlights from East Asia encapsulating the latest advancements in the sector.
Chinese National Accused of $5.94 Billion Fraud in Legal Proceedings
An individual from China is said to have deceived more than 130,000 investors in mainland China, amounting to 43 billion Chinese yuan ($5.94 billion), and utilized Bitcoin for money laundering.
Yadi Zhang was detained by British authorities and, during her presence in Westminster Magistrates’ Court on April 20, communicated through an interpreter her intention to plead not guilty to two accusations of illegal possession of cryptocurrency. She was detained in custody.
“It is imperative to avoid hastiness in forming opinions regarding this issue. Ms. Zhang contends that she is entirely innocent,” stated her legal representative, Roger Sahota from Berkeley Square Solicitors, as mentioned in the Financial Times.
Prior to this, her aide, Wen Jian, a 42-year-old service staff member in a quick-service restaurant in East London, confessed to the charges of money laundering. In 2018, the London authorities appropriated over 61,000 Bitcoin, currently valued at $4.0 billion, following a raid on the residence where two women were residing.
Under the guise of the entity “Blue Sky Grid,” Zhang purportedly coordinated one of the largest Ponzi schemes in mainland China, encompassing over 130,000 victims. According to local reports during that period:
“Blue Sky Grid was set up in Tianjin in 2014. With affirmations such as environmental preservation development, intelligent senior care, and Bitcoin mining, the firm entices with zero-risk and high-interest rebates, arranges product showcases, engages brokers and conducts workshops and educational sessions, signs investment contracts with the community, and accumulates funds from society.”
However, things took a nosedive when investors who had earned “sufficient returns” tried to make withdrawals.
In 2017, confronted by a surge in refund requests, Zhang supposedly left China, initially procuring a Myanmar passport under the alias of “Nan Yin” and exploiting the forged document to acquire a legitimate St. Kitts and Nevis passport through the country’s…
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