BlockBeats News, September 30th, Caixin reported the trial details of the mastermind behind the “60,000 BTC Money Laundering Case,” Qian Zhimin. It was revealed that behind Qian Zhimin’s confession, the cross-border asset recovery and compensation have just begun. The Sino-British judicial cooperation faces even greater challenges, and substantial justice is still on the way. Qian Zhimin’s confession in this case only involves two charges from the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service: obtaining criminal property (cryptocurrency) and holding/transferring criminal property (cryptocurrency).
Qian Zhimin’s defense lawyer, Roger Sahota, changed his strategy from pleading not guilty to stating, “She pleaded guilty today in the hope of bringing some comfort to the investors who have been waiting for compensation since 2017 and assuring them that the significant increase in the value of cryptocurrency means there is enough funds to repay the losses.” However, this statement carries some intriguing implications.
Yesterday, a Chinese investigating officer personally went to London to testify, and several Chinese victims will testify via video link from a court in Tianjin, China. This case involves issues such as cross-border money laundering, crypto asset recovery, and is seen as a milestone test for the supervision and governance of cross-border financial crimes in the era of digital currencies. Qian Zhimin is accused of illegally raising approximately 43 billion yuan through a Ponzi scheme-like “investment finance” product from 2014 to 2017 using Tianjin Blue Sky Grid Electronic Technology Co., Ltd., with 130,000 victims.
