A ‘rags to riches’ ex-takeaway worker has been ordered to pay back £3.1 million after a money laundering conviction. Jian Wen, 42, was convicted of money laundering at Southwark Crown Court and sentenced to six years eight months in prison.
Wen’s criminal activity benefited her to the sum of £3,500,113. These funds saw her go from living above a restaurant to residing in a multi-million pound rented house in North London.
Wen was convicted for charges relating to a cryptocurrency wallet containing 150 Bitcoin. A Metropolitan Police investigation resulted in the seizure of Bitcoin wallets with an initial estimated value of £300 million. Prosecutors told the court the scale of the seized Bitcoin and the lack of any legitimate evidence for how it was acquired, all indicated that it was criminal property.
Wen moved into her north London Manor House in 2017
(Image: CPS)
In 2019, Wen also travelled to Dubai to purchase two properties worth more than £500,000 – claiming to have worked for a Chinese national who had asked her to make the purchases during the investigation and trials. She also denied knowing some or all of the Bitcoin derived from criminality.
Wen has now been ordered to pay £3,126,572 under a Confiscation Order made last week (Friday, January 10). If she fails to pay this back within three months she could serve an additional seven years in prison, the judge ordered.
He also determined that Wen had benefited from her criminal activity to the sum of £3,500,113 – a shortfall she may be liable to pay, with police able to investigate if she owns any new asset.
Adrian Foster, Chief Crown Prosecutor, said: “The CPS and the Metropolitan Police have successfully brought Jian Wen to justice. Wen is a sophisticated money launderer who laundered many millions of the proceeds of crime. We have today secured a Confiscation Order against her of more than £3.1m, which she must pay within 3 months or risk being returned to prison for an additional sentence of seven years.
“In the last five years, over £450 million has been recovered from CPS-obtained Confiscation Orders, ensuring that thousands of convicted criminals cannot profit from their offending. £88m of that amount has been returned to victims of crime, by way of compensation.”
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