Man Faces Life Sentence After China Accuses Him of Running Secret Crypto Mining Activities, Bribery: Report

A Chinese man will reportedly spend the rest of his life in prison after being caught hiding illicit crypto mining activities and accepting bribes.

According to a new report by the South China Morning Post, former senior provincial official Xiao Yi has been handed a life sentence for providing support for local crypto mining businesses.

Yi, 61, the former Vice Chairman of the Jiangxi Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and former Communist Party Chief of Fuzhou City, was found to be providing fiscal and electrical support to local crypto mining firms, according to a statement released by the court earlier this week.

In a news program that aired in January, the Chinese government detailed Yi’s wrongdoings, which include hiding a crypto mining firm as a big data and cloud computing business, instructing local crypto mining group Jiumu Group Genesis Technology to “put up a performance” during government inspections, and asking officials to doctor power usage statistics to mask mining activities.

As stated by Yi in the aired news program, according to the report,

“I’m a sinner to the people in Fuzhou, and I have failed them. Because of my distorted view of political achievements… I acted recklessly, causing such grave losses.”

According to the court, Yi’s actions wasted public utilities, damaged public property, and undermined China’s national interests. Furthermore, Yi was accused of accepting $17 million ($125 million yuan) worth of bribes from 2008 to 2021 to provide favors for specific companies and individuals.

China declared crypto-related transactions illegal, citing security and social stability reasons, and intensified the crackdown in 2021.

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