Another cryptocurrency scam broke out in Singapore, CTO Wang Xinghong was sentenced to 5 years in prison, and former Chinese richest man and founder Yang Bin was not released on bail and awaiting sentencing

A Chinese man, Wang Xinghong, has been sentenced to five years in prison for his role in a $6.7 million cryptocurrency scam. Wang was charged with 13 counts of fraud and violations of the Payment Services Act. The scam was run by A&A Blockchain Innovation Pte Ltd (A&A).

The company was founded in Singapore in 2021 by China's former richest man, Yang Bin, and claimed to have bought a 70% stake in a cryptocurrency mining company in Yunnan, China. However, all this was false, and A&A did not actually have any mining equipment or company shares. In the end, this "Ponzi scheme" led to more than 700 investors being defrauded of $6.7 million.

CTO Wang Xinghong Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison

Wang Xinghong (40), A&A's chief technology officer, was responsible for designing mining applications and falsifying data to make investors believe that their investments were profitable. Wang Xinghong admitted to earning $100,000 (about S$132,559) in compensation.

A&A promoted its fake cryptocurrency mining scheme to Singaporean investors between May 20, 2021 and February 15, 2022. The company claimed that it had 300,000 mining machines that could mine Bitcoin and Ethereum, and promised to provide a 0.5% return on investment every day. However, A&A did not actually conduct any mining operations, and the entire scheme was essentially a Ponzi scheme, using the funds of new investors to pay the "profits" of old investors.

The investigation showed that more than 700 investors were deceived, involving a total amount of up to 6.7 million yuan. The prosecution pointed out that the application designed by Wang Xinghong made investors think that their investments were profitable, but in fact the company did not conduct any mining activities. The 12 victims invested a total of 1.8 million yuan, and some investors received "profits", but the overall loss was about 1.1 million yuan.

The prosecution believes that although Wang Xinghong was not the mastermind, he played an important role in the scam. The application he designed allowed the scam to continue. The prosecution also pointed out that although the defendant earned $100,000 in remuneration, he did not participate in sales or promotion activities.

Wang Xinghong's defense lawyer said that the defendant only acted according to the instructions of the mastermind Yang Bin, and the $100,000 he earned was only the reward for designing the application. The lawyer also said that Wang Xinghong paid $5,000 (about S$6,627) for the cloud server out of his own pocket, and asked the judge to reduce the sentence to 3.5 to 3 years and 10 months.

Founder Yang Bin: Former Chinese richest man without guarantee, now awaiting trial

According to a report by Phoenix.com, a well-known Chinese news website: Yang Bin is the founder of the Eurasia Group and the founder of the "Singapore Chinese Business Shande Foundation". He was the first chief executive of the Sinuiju Special Administrative Region of North Korea and has good relations with politicians from many countries.

Yang Bin is one of the leading figures in the field of high-tech agriculture. As a serial entrepreneur and a trendsetter in the capital market, he is known as the "legendary figure in the political and business circles in the early 21st century" and once ranked first in the Forbes Chinese mainland rich list in 2001.

Yang Bin was arrested by the Chinese government while serving as the first chief executive of the Sinuiju Special Administrative Region of North Korea. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison in 2003 and was released in 2016. He later came to Singapore. Yang Bin is said to have a close relationship with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il. After his arrest, the North Korean government sent representatives to Beijing for consultations.

According to sources in Singapore, Wang Xinghong was briefly released on bail, and the founder Yang Bin was also suspected of rape and other crimes, and no one bailed him out. He is currently in custody awaiting trial.