Second-richest man in China jailed for six years over $5m crypto fraud: report

China’s second richest man has been sentenced to six years in prison in Singapore for running a fraudulent crypto investment scheme.

Yang Bin, a Chinese-Dutch businessman who was the second-richest man in China in 2001 according to Forbes, was sentenced to six years in prison and fined 16,000 Singapore dollars (about $12,200) in Singapore on Monday (Aug. 26) for leading a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme disguised as a crypto investment operation, CNA reported.

Yang, who founded A&A Blockchain Innovation in April 2021 without a valid business permit, falsely claimed that the company had 300,000 cryptocurrency mining machines capable of generating a daily return of 0.5% for investors. However, in reality, these machines did not exist and Yang used funds from new investors to pay for the earlier machines.

The scheme, which promised investors returns from cryptocurrency mining, reportedly involved more than 700 participants who invested approximately S$6.7 million (over $5 million) between May 2021 and February 2022. Yang’s company operated a money circulation scheme and instructed his accomplice Wang Xinghong to develop an app that fraudulently displayed investment returns.

Yang pleaded guilty to eight charges, including conspiracy to cheat and operating without a valid business permit. Assistant prosecutor Wong Shiau Yin highlighted Yang’s significant role in the scheme and the lack of compensation for victims. District Judge Brenda Chua emphasised Yang’s significant culpability compared to the other defendants whose legal proceedings are ongoing.

Yang, who previously worked in the textile industry in China, was appointed by North Korea to oversee the economic development of the Sinŭiju Special Administrative Region in 2002. However, in November of that year, he was placed under house arrest by Chinese authorities on charges of tax evasion.