A former employee of Wechain Fintech, responsible for processing salaries for Bybit, has been sentenced to 9 years and 11 months in prison for embezzling $5.7 million, mostly in cryptocurrency, reports The Straits Times.
Between May 31 and August 31, 2022, the woman made fraudulent entries in Excel files, adding fictitious payments supposedly owed to employees of the crypto platform. These amounts were transferred to Kai Xin’s personal wallets and then converted to fiat currency.
Over four months, she withdrew more than 4.2 million USDT. Following several fraudulent episodes totaling $5.7 million, Kai Xin laundered over $4.3 million.
In February 2023, a Wechain representative reported the offenses to the police. Two months later, Kai Xin was arrested.
She later attempted to deceive investigators by claiming the money was transferred by a cousin, whose identity was fictitious.
Police seized assets from the woman worth over $330,000, including a Mercedes-Benz car. Bybit also managed to recover more than 1.1 million USDT from electronic wallets and approximately $140,000 from one of Kai Xin’s bank accounts.
The prosecution stated that she used the illicit proceeds for a lavish lifestyle, including making an initial payment of nearly $750,000 for a penthouse valued at over $3.7 million. She also purchased sunglasses, bags, shoes, shirts, and rings from the luxury brand Louis Vuitton, Deputy Prosecutor Jeremy Bin told the court.
A civil court prohibited the woman from using the illicit proceeds. Nevertheless, she spent nearly $840,000 on numerous luxury items. On January 27, for violating the order, Kai Xin was sentenced to six weeks in prison.
On February 20, the woman pleaded guilty to fraud, benefiting from criminal conduct, and providing false information to a public servant. Thirty additional charges were considered during sentencing.
Earlier in February, four Norwegians were charged with orchestrating a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme and money laundering, causing damages exceeding $80 million to victims worldwide.