Chinese woman who had 9 trillion won in Bitcoin and lived in a house with a monthly rent of 30 million won sentenced to 11 years and 8 months in prison

A Chinese woman who ran a Ponzi (multi-level) scam on 128,000 people in China, extorted money and then continued a lavish lifestyle in the UK has been sentenced to prison.

On the 11th (local time), the BBC and Reuters reported that the Southwark Crown Court in London sentenced Chen Zemin (47), who was charged with possession of illegal funds and money laundering, to 11 years and 8 months in prison.

The case drew attention when it was revealed that the bitcoins seized by UK authorities numbered 61,000, with a market value of about 5 billion pounds (about 9.4 trillion won).

According to UK investigators, Chen is accused of taking money from 128,000 people in China between 2014 and 2017 under the guise of investment, diverting the funds and converting them into Bitcoin.

After attracting suspicion from Chinese authorities, Chen entered the UK in 2017 with forged documents after passing through several countries in Southeast Asia. In London she cashed out Bitcoin to rent a house for 17,000 pounds a month (about 32.7 million won), traveled across Europe and bought luxury jewelry, living a lavish lifestyle.

Chen's secretary, Wen Zhen, attempted in 2018 to purchase a house in London worth 12.5 million pounds (about 24 billion won) at Chen's direction, but was caught after failing to properly explain the source of the funds.

Wen Zhen was sentenced to prison last year before Chen Zemin.

Kim Su-young Hankyung.com reporter swimmingk@hankyung.com