Xiao Yi, a former government official in China, has been sentenced to life in prison for illegitimate business operations and corruption charges related to a $329 million Bitcoin mining enterprise. Yi used his position to provide financial and electricity subsidies to Jiumu Group Genesis Technology, a Bitcoin mining firm that at one point operated over 160,000 mining machines. He was found guilty of covering up the operation by instructing relevant departments to fabricate statistical reports and adjust the classification of electricity consumption.
The Intermediate People’s Court of Hangzhou City, where Yi was tried, also found him guilty of non-crypto-related corruption activities. Yi was accused of bribery from 2008 to 2021. He repented and returned stolen funds, and confiscated profits from the illegal activities helped to recover part of the damage done.
While China has banned all forms of cryptocurrency transactions and exchanges, ownership has not been curtailed. However, the Chinese court’s August 3 ruling of a $10 million Bitcoin lending contract as invalid was based on the country’s restrictions on cryptocurrencies. Similarly, an Aug. 14 decision sentenced a Chinese national to nine months in prison for assisting a friend in buying Tether, earning a profit of $20.
