A Beijing courtroom has sentenced Hao Gang, a former deputy director of the Beijing Monetary Bureau, to 11 years in jail for bribery and Bitcoin-related cash laundering.
The ruling marks one other vital step in China’s crackdown on monetary misconduct linked to cryptocurrency.
China Cracks Down on Bitcoin-Linked Corruption
The courtroom reportedly delivered its verdict on Thursday, February 6, after a two-year probe into Gang’s actions. Investigators discovered that he accepted tens of tens of millions of yuan in bribes to help Bitcoin mining companies dealing with regulatory challenges.
Native reviews additionally point out that he helped a senior government from a significant mining firm evade journey restrictions in change for illicit funds.
The courtroom initially handed separate sentences—eight years for bribery and 4 for cash laundering—however later merged them into an 11-year jail time period. Along with the jail time, Gang obtained a nice of RMB 1.3 million ($164,662).
Additionally, officers confiscated his illegally obtained earnings, redirecting them to the state treasury.
Hao Gang performed a big function in Beijing’s monetary sector earlier than the investigation into his actions started. His conviction displays China’s strict stance in opposition to monetary misconduct tied to Bitcoin. The ruling additionally indicators an ongoing crackdown on corruption inside the sector.
This case follows an analogous high-profile sentencing. Final yr, Chinese language authorities sentenced a authorities employee to life in jail for promoting categorised data to a international intelligence company. The person, reportedly drowning in debt from failed crypto investments, resorted to espionage in change for digital belongings.
Over time, Chinese language regulators have strengthened restrictions to curb unlawful crypto transactions, aligning with the federal government’s long-standing stance in opposition to speculative investments in digital currencies.
Nevertheless, China’s strategy to cryptocurrency regulation stays inconsistent. Whereas one ruling categorised crypto buying and selling as playing, a previous Excessive Courtroom choice acknowledged digital belongings as authorized property.
This contradiction displays the federal government’s wrestle to keep up monetary stability whereas adapting to the altering digital economic system.
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