It is not often that one reads about a five-year investigation to crack down on illegal activity involving billions of pounds worth of Bitcoin being solved thanks to the excessive spending habits of a former take-away employee, but that is exactly what happened recently. The person in question was found guilty of laundering 150 bitcoins, worth just £7.5 million, but the UK Metropolitan Police eventually seized a staggering total of 61,000 cryptocurrencies.

The details of Jian Wen's conviction (according to The Guardian) highlight how she originally lived and worked in a Chinese restaurant in Leeds, England, but became involved in a complex, large-scale cryptocurrency scam in which illegally obtained bitcoin was used to pay for expensive homes and luxury items.

In 2017, Wen was entrusted to act as an employee of an international jewelry business, initially renting a London property (apparently worth £17,000 per month) and from there traveling around the world, using cryptocurrency to pay for further properties in London and Dubai, expensive jewelry in Zurich He attempted to purchase He also used it to pay his son's private school tuition.

However, there is basically a law in the UK that states that if you move or spend large sums of money, you must prove exactly where the cash came from. In Wen's case, she tried to pass a money laundering check by claiming it all came from bitcoin mining.

Her claims were not believed and she was reported to the authorities, who eventually arrested and convicted her on money laundering charges over 150 bitcoins worth £7.5 million. However, during the investigation, police seized a total of 61,000 bitcoins stored on numerous devices, which are worth more than £3 billion at current prices.

While the crypto scam has been busted, the main leader has yet to be caught, and it is believed that the operation was part of a larger investment fraud scheme that was taking place in China. While one wonders what will ultimately happen to Bitcoin, the Crown Prosecution Service in the UK is working on a so-called civil recovery investigation aimed at confiscating cryptocurrencies.

Enthusiastic followers of cryptocurrency will know that it is a favored means of money laundering in the world of con artists and fraudsters.