In today's era of surging digital finance, a case involving a huge cryptocurrency fraud has attracted much attention. China's once famous second richest man was sentenced to six years in prison by the court for a cryptocurrency fraud case involving $5 million. This verdict not only reveals the dark side of the cryptocurrency field, but also triggers people's deep thinking about digital currency regulation, personal wealth accumulation and moral bottom line.
Yang Bin, a 61-year-old Chinese-Dutch businessman and leader of A&A Blockchain Innovation (A&A), set up an investment company in Singapore to conduct a Ponzi scheme, falsely claiming to cooperate with a Chinese cryptocurrency mining company and own a large number of mining machines, defrauding more than 700 investors of S$6.7 million. He faces 19 charges including fraud and violation of foreign labor employment regulations. Yesterday, August 26, he pleaded guilty to eight of the charges in the Singapore National Court, and the judge sentenced him to six years in prison and a fine of S$16,000.
It is worth mentioning that Yang Bin, who was born in China, studied in the Netherlands in 1987 and obtained Dutch citizenship after the Tiananmen Incident in 1989. After that, he invested in Shenyang, China and started a flower business. In 2001, he ranked high on Forbes magazine's list of China's richest people. No. 2, and in the same year, he was invited by North Korea's then leader Kim Jong Il to serve as the chief executive of the Sinuiju Special Administrative Region near the Chinese border.
However, Yang Bin was taken away and placed under house arrest by Chinese authorities in October 2002 on suspicion of tax evasion. In 2003, he was sentenced to 18 years in prison by a Chinese court for six crimes, including forging financial documents for fraud, bribery, and illegal occupation of agricultural land. He was released on parole early in 2016.
Focusing on Yang Bin's latest case, court documents show that without a valid work permit in Singapore, Yang Bin established A&A Blockchain Innovation Company in April 2021 to provide a cryptocurrency mining investment plan. The company lied that it was cooperating with a cryptocurrency mining company in Yunnan, China, and owned 70% of the company's 300,000 mining machines. The mining machines can mine cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. A&A promised investors that they could earn 0.5% of their investment profits every day (approximately 180% annualized).
However, in reality, A&A did not cooperate with the Chinese company and did not have mining machines. It was just a Ponzi scheme. Yang Bin only used the funds of new investors to pay returns to early investors, and attracted investors to be deceived by paying them back. From May 2021 to February 2022, the criminal group deceived more than 700 investors in Singapore and defrauded a total of 6.7 million Singapore dollars, equivalent to more than 5 million US dollars.
It is reported that Yang Bin recruited three Chinese men to participate in the scam, including Lu Huangbin (60 years old), Wang Xinghong (40 years old) and Chen Wei (43 years old), who served as A&A president, technical director and director and Yang Bin's personal assistant. Yang Bin instructed Wang Xinghong to create a mining application so that investors can monitor their investment status, but all the data was forged. He also instructed Lu Huangbin to promote this investment plan and instructed Chen Wei to collect investment funds from investors, and then he used the money for personal expenses.
Wang Xinghong, a member of the criminal group, had previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years in prison. The cases of Lu Huangbin and Chen Wei are still under trial. This time, Yang Bin's lawyer pleaded in court that although Yang Bin was the mastermind, he was a first-time offender and actively cooperated with the authorities' investigation. Yang Bin also claimed that he only made a profit of about 60,000 Singapore dollars, while Wang Xinghong made about 130,000 Singapore dollars, twice as much as Yang Bin, so he pleaded with the judge to give a lenient sentence. However, the judge emphasized that Yang Bin played a key role in the plan and that the victims did not receive compensation. He was more guilty than his co-defendants and was eventually sentenced to six years in prison.
In summary, the case of China's "second richest man" being sentenced to six years in prison for cryptocurrency fraud has once again sounded the alarm for the cryptocurrency market. As an emerging financial tool, cryptocurrency has attracted the attention of a large number of investors with its decentralization and anonymity. However, it is these characteristics that have also provided opportunities for criminals to take advantage of investors' greed and ignorance and fabricate various false information to defraud money. Investors need to remain rational, vigilant, and act with caution.
In addition, this is not only a simple legal case, but also a profound warning to the entire society, reminding us to adhere to the moral bottom line and pursue legal and compliant ways of wealth accumulation. The rapid accumulation of wealth cannot be a talisman for illegal activities.
