CCTV broadcast the fourth episode of its anti-corruption documentary series "Never Stop, Never Back Down" tonight (14th), titled " Technology Empowers Anti-Corruption ." The episode revealed that Yao Qian, the former director of the Technology Supervision Department and the former director of the Information Center of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, had long used his position to conduct power-for-money transactions through cryptocurrencies, involving tens of millions of yuan. This case is one of the most representative examples of "virtual currency corruption" in recent years.
ICO "Say hello" in exchange for ETH rewards
The documentary revealed that as early as 2018, Yao Qian had already been involved in cryptocurrency-related power-for-money transactions. At that time, at the request of a businessman surnamed Zhang who was conducting an ICO (Initial Coin Offering), he "made a call" to a virtual currency trading platform to help the project get listed and supported.
The ICO project ultimately raised approximately 20,000 ETH. In return, Zhang transferred 2,000 ETH to Yao Qian, which, based on the market value at the time, was worth tens of millions of RMB. This transaction was identified by the investigating authorities as key evidence that Yao Qian "abused his regulatory authority to accept cryptocurrency bribes."
Hardware wallets hide virtual assets
During the investigation, the task force directly seized multiple hardware wallets from a drawer in Yao Qian's office. These devices, resembling USB flash drives or remote controls, are often used to store virtual currency offline and are highly concealed.
Forensic examination confirmed that these hardware wallets contained cryptocurrency assets that Yao Qian had illegally received over the years.
Through layers of shell accounts, money was laundered, and the funds ultimately flowed to a villa in Beijing.
Although the bank accounts under Yao Qian's name appeared normal, the disciplinary inspection and supervision authorities discovered through cross-comparison of big data that many accounts opened in other people's names were actually controlled by Yao Qian, which are typical "shell accounts".
One of the transactions, amounting to 10 million yuan, traced back to a cryptocurrency exchange after going through approximately four layers of transfers. This money was subsequently used to pay part of the purchase price for a villa in Beijing worth over 20 million yuan. The property was registered under the name of a relative, but the actual ownership belonged to Yao Qian.
In addition, two other sums totaling approximately 12 million yuan flowed in through the same channel to pay the remaining balance for the villa.
Accepting bribes from subordinates and exchanging them for ETH
The documentary also revealed that Yao Qian, through his subordinate Jiang Guoqing, accepted RMB 12 million in bribes from businessman Wang, and converted some of the funds into 370 ETH to further expand his holdings of crypto assets.
During the program, Yao Qian appeared on camera to confess, saying, "I knew it was a shady act, how could you do it? It's just that you thought it would be difficult to find evidence before."
Case Timeline
- April 26, 2024: Yao Qian was announced to be under investigation.
- November 2024: Expelled from the Party and dismissed from public office; the official report explicitly mentioned using virtual currency for power-for-money transactions.
- 2025: Continuous evidence collection, including valuation of electronic data and virtual assets.
- January 14, 2026: CCTV documentary reveals more details.
