A Chinese man, identified only as Wang Momou, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for espionage and illicitly receiving over 1 million yuan in cryptocurrency payments.
The People’s Court in China found Wang guilty of sharing classified state secrets with foreign intelligence agencies. The court’s decision was based on evidence suggesting that Wang, motivated by significant financial losses from cryptocurrency investments, sought employment opportunities on online forums.
During this time, he was approached and recruited by foreign intelligence operatives.
The prosecution argued that Wang, initially hesitant, gradually increased the sensitivity of the information he shared after receiving initial payments for less sensitive materials like photographs and documents. The national security agency discovered that Wang had provided top-secret and confidential state secrets, receiving cryptocurrency payments for these acts.
As a security official, Wang exploited loopholes in document handling procedures to steal classified information. A subsequent investigation by the national security agency uncovered a cache of high-level secret documents on his personal computer.
This sentencing follows a series of recent incidents involving cryptocurrency and espionage in the region. In a separate case, China extradited a suspect linked to a $14 billion cryptocurrency scam from Thailand. Additionally, Taiwan convicted several individuals for spying for China and receiving payments in cryptocurrency.