The court sentenced a former official of the Chinese province of Jiangxi Yi Xiao to life imprisonment for corruption and support of cryptocurrency mining operations.
According to the case file, between 2008 and 2021, the defendant used his official position for personal gain and earned more than 125 million yuan (~$17.1 million) in bribes.
Xiao also served as party secretary of Fuzhou City from 2017 to 2021. In his position, he helped set up mining companies, which “resulted in significant losses to state property, national and people’s interests,” the court added.
In addition to the life sentence, Xiao was permanently stripped of his political rights and had all personal property confiscated.
In late May 2021, Liu He, vice premier of China’s State Council, announced the authorities’ intention to take action against cryptocurrency mining and bitcoin trading. In early June, authorities in Xinjiang and Qinghai provinces ordered local companies mining digital assets to cease operations. The Yunnan region also began to restrict operations.