Former Member of Jiangxi Provincial Political Consultative Conference Sentenced to Life Imprisonment for Involvement in Virtual Currency “Mining”
NTD Times, Beijing – On August 22nd, Xiao Yi, former member of the Jiangxi Provincial Political Consultative Conference and vice chairman, was sentenced to life imprisonment in the first instance. Xiao Yi had been accused of participating in virtual currency “mining” while serving as the secretary of the Fuzhou Municipal Party Committee. This led to him being dubbed the “Mining Secretary.”
The Hangzhou Intermediate Court of Zhejiang Province issued a judgment against Xiao Yi, stating that from 2008 to 2021, he took advantage of his position to unlawfully acquire over 125 million yuan ($19.4 million) worth of property, out of which more than 57.82 million yuan ($8.99 million) had not been actually obtained.
The court also mentioned that from 2017 to 2021, while Xiao Yi served as the secretary of the Fuzhou Municipal Party Committee, he provided assistance to companies involved in the production of virtual currency calculations, resulting in significant losses to public property. The court described the circumstances as “particularly serious” with a “particularly bad” impact.
61-year-old Xiao Yi, originally from Nanchang, Jiangxi, has been working in the province for many years. Although the court did not explicitly name his involvement in “mining” activities this time, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection had mentioned in a circular when Xiao Yi was investigated in November 2021 that he had abused his power to support and introduce companies engaged in virtual currency “mining” activities. This was the first time such language appeared in a notification regarding fallen senior officials.
“Mining” refers to the process of “mining” virtual currency on the internet. It consumes a considerable amount of electricity but offers limited contribution to employment, industrial development, and technological progress. The Beijing authorities have explicitly prohibited the development of virtual currency “mining” projects under any name.
Xiao Yi is the fourth provincial-level official investigated in Jiangxi after the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. Prior to him, Yin Meigen, the deputy director of the Jiangxi Provincial People’s Congress, was also sacked.
[Editor in charge: Wen Hui]