Recently, the Jinghua City scandal has continued to expand, arousing great public concern. Last week, the anti-corruption agency conducted a search at the home of former Taipei Mayor Ke Wenzhe and seized a USB flash drive. This discovery aroused heated public opinion.
In this case, "finance master" who was involved in the ACE Ace Exchange virtual currency fraud case and Taipei District Prosecutor's Office prosecutor Chen Minjin has also joined the investigation team, making Ke Wenzhe suspected of using cryptocurrency to conduct cash flow operations and accept bribes. The rumors are getting more intense, and many people speculate that this mysterious USB may become a key evidence in the case, guiding the investigation towards the secret path of cryptocurrency money flow.
Lin Hongyu Crypto Lawyer: Don’t use cryptocurrency as a magic lamp for crime
Regarding the USB flash drive in this case, the media and public opinion have had many misunderstandings about the operation of cryptocurrency. In this regard, Lin Hongyu, an encryption lawyer who is familiar with the field of cryptocurrency, personally appeared on the Sanli News program to explain three possibilities For cryptocurrency-related operations and clarifying some misunderstandings, he first said:
It is wrong to regard cryptocurrency as a magic genie, as if a bad guy rubs it like this and his money can be laundered out!
USB flash drives are not cryptocurrencies themselves
First of all, lawyer Lin Hongyu pointed out a common mistake, that is, the USB flash drive itself will not suddenly turn into a cryptocurrency such as USDT. The flash drive may store the private key of the cryptocurrency, and the private key is the only way to use the cryptocurrency. This private key is similar to the password of a bank account. Once the owner loses the private key, he also loses control of the cryptocurrency. The private key is usually stored in the form of a set of garbled characters or 12 English words (note: ), and this information may be stored in USB.
In this case, if the USB flash drive contains the private key of the encrypted currency, then the data in the USB can be regarded as an "electromagnetic record". According to China's Criminal Procedure Law, it can be seized by the prosecutor and used as evidence. If the USB does contain the private key, the flow of cryptocurrency could be directly controlled. However, lawyer Lin Hongyu believes that the possibility of this situation is low.
If there is a private key in the USB today, it means that the money flow in this case has been discovered. In fact, frankly speaking, there may not be a problem of non-guaranteed return.
Openness and transparency of cold wallets and wallet addresses
Lawyer Lin Hongyu then pointed out that the second possibility is the "cold wallet" mentioned by the media. A cold wallet is a storage method for cryptocurrency. It is not connected to the Internet and has high security. If a cold wallet exists, then The wallet will be accompanied by a wallet address, which can be used to track all financial flows.
After knowing the wallet address of the cold wallet, you can retrieve all the financial flows of all cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrency has a characteristic that all its transaction records must be open and transparent, recorded in the ledger, and there are some network participants around the world to back up these records.
Lawyer Lin Hongyu calls on everyone to know clearly that one of the characteristics of cryptocurrency is that its transaction records are open and transparent. All transaction data will be recorded on the blockchain and backed up by global network participants. Therefore, if you have the address of the cold wallet , investigators can query related cryptocurrency cash flows based on this address to clarify the whereabouts of the funds. However, according to the latest clarification from the Taipei District Prosecutor’s Office, no cold wallet has been found in the relevant safe.
Possibility of third party exchange or OTC trading
Finally, a third possibility is to trade through a cryptocurrency exchange or OTC dealer, which involves selling your cryptocurrency to an exchange or OTC dealer and then paying in cash or transferring the money via wire transfer. However, lawyer Lin Hongyu said that in the Ke Wenzhe case, there is no evidence that any transaction related to this occurred.
Based on the above three approaches, lawyer Lin Hongyu believes that the current evidence shows that the financial flow operations related to cryptocurrency in Ke Wenzhe’s case have not yet been definitively determined, and the investigation results still require further observation and analysis.
Lawyer Lin Hongyu: Peggy Chan’s press conference is “weird and dangerous”
However, lawyer Lin Hongyu also expressed his opinion on Chen Peiqi’s press conference. Lawyer Lin Hongyu pointed out that Chen Peiqi’s public explanation of her property status is a “bizarre and dangerous” strategy. Legally, if the property growth of civil servants and their spouses does not match their income, they will A reasonable explanation must be provided in accordance with the Corruption Crime Ordinance.
Peggy Chan tried to explain to the outside world that her property was consistent with her income through a press conference, but her lawyer pointed out that such explanations should be directed at the prosecutorial unit or the judicial system, rather than the media and the general public. It was inappropriate for the public to speak to the outside world, which increased the number of people. Unnecessary risks.
In addition, lawyer Lin Hongyu emphasized that witnesses are legally obligated to state truthfully. If Chen Peiqi’s statement at the press conference is inconsistent with the prosecutorial unit’s statement, she may face charges of perjury. Therefore, the lawyer believes that her approach involves legal risks. , which may be detrimental to herself.
Lawyers also expressed doubts about the large-amount withdrawals and foreign exchange deposits mentioned by Chen Peiqi in the media. According to the Money Laundering Prevention and Control Law, financial institutions must conduct large-amount transactions if they discover that customers have made large-amount transactions, especially cash deposits exceeding 500,000 yuan. Reporting to relevant units, if you avoid the reporting threshold of 500,000 yuan through repeated small withdrawals or deposits, this type of behavior may be regarded as circumventing supervision in law and will also be marked as a "suspicious transaction" by financial institutions.
