A Chinese government official, Xiao Yi, has been handed a life imprisonment sentence due to involvement in unauthorized business operations associated with a Bitcoin mining venture worth 2.4 billion Chinese yuan ($329 million).
Xiao Yi, formerly a member of the Party Group and Vice Chairman of the Jiangxi Provincial Political Consultative Conference, has been found guilty of accepting bribes and abusing power.
On August 22, 2023, the Intermediate People’s Court in Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, publicly announced the verdict for Xiao Yi. The court sentenced him to life imprisonment and lifelong loss of political rights for the charge of accepting bribes.
Additionally, his personal property was seized. For the crime of abusing power, Xiao Yi received a six-year prison sentence, which will be served concurrently with the life sentence.
The allegations of corruption have their origins in activities unrelated to cryptocurrency, specifically involving cases of bribery occurring between 2008 and 2021.
The charges of abusing power, applicable from 2017 to 2021, are associated with providing financial and electricity benefits to Jiumu Group Genesis Technology, a company located in Fuzhou City. This particular company, at a certain point, has been responsible for managing over 160,000 Bitcoin mining machines.
The news agency stated that he was also engaged in unauthorized support across areas like project contracting, project progression, and job elevation, concluding in the growth of assets exceeding a valuation of 125 million yuan.
The court ruling wrote, ”Yi pleaded guilty and repented, actively returned the stolen goods, and all the bribes and their fruits have been seized.”
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