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Authorities reportedly confiscated Bitcoin&nbsp;worth $1.7 billion after a former restaurant worker attempted to buy a mansion worth about $30 million in London.
On Jan. 30, Sky News <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/bitcoin-worth-16314bn-seized-after-ex-takeaway-worker-tried-to-buy-16323m-mansion-court-hears-13059926" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">reported</a> that Jian Wen, a Chinese national who became a British citizen in 2018, was allegedly recruited to assist Zhimin Qian in money laundering. Qian, who went to the United Kingdom under a false identity, needed help cleaning up the funds taken from an investment fraud scheme facilitated in China from 2014 to 2017.&nbsp;
Wen used to work at a Chinese restaurant in southeast London before meeting Qian. The takeaway worker lived in a room underneath the restaurant before she met her “boss,” whom she introduced as working in an international jewelry business. 
Prosecutor Gillian Jones said that Wen attempted to buy luxury items and real estate in London with Bitcoin (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price">BTC</a>).&nbsp;This included a seven-bedroom mansion in Hampstead with a swimming pool. The property was on the market for $30 million, but the purchases didn’t go through when Wen could not explain the source of the crypto assets. 
<figure data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-01/89218c45-9e87-451e-88f6-46c830e46292.jpg" alt="" title="">
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 Image of the property that Wen attempted to purchase. Source: Google Street View (via Sky New)
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</figure>
Jones <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/e73bbbb0-7974-4c8e-a3e8-2817884e35fb" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">told</a> the jury at the trial that Wen was not involved in the fraud committed by Qian. However, Wen is accused of converting Bitcoin into cash, luxury items and real estate on behalf of Qian. 
Authorities reportedly raided a house that Wen and Qian rented and confiscated various devices containing more than 61,000 BTC, worth about $1.7 billion when it was accessed back in 2021. 
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/couple-mistakenly-sent-10-5-m-crypto-com-october-plea-hearing">Couple mistakenly sent $10.5M by Crypto.com to face October plea hearing</a>
Initially, Wen claimed that the crypto she held had been mined. Then, she changed her story, saying it was a “love present,” presenting a deed stating that she received 3,000 BTC from Qian. 
Wen is now on trial at the Southwark Crown Court for three counts of money laundering between October 2017 and January 2022. She denies all the charges against her. Meanwhile, Qian has already fled the United Kingdom and is still at large. 
Magazine: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/308m-crypto-laundering-scheme-busted-hashkey-token-hong-kong-cbdc-asia-express/">$308M crypto laundering scheme busted, Hashkey token, Hong Kong CBDC: Asia Express</a>

$30M mansion hunt leads to $1.7B Bitcoin seizure

Cointelegraph

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