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Xiao Yi detained for supporting crypto mining and abusing power

TL;DR

TL;DR Breakdown

  •  Xiao Yi, a former senior political adviser, has been taken into custody for getting involved in crypto mining, abusing power, and taking bribes.
  • The government wants to crack down on the illegal trading of funds linked to cryptos.

Xiao Yi has been taken into custody for associating with crypto miners. The top regional Communist Party official was also purged from the party last month. 

Xiao is a former Vice Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Jiangxi Provincial Committee. He is believed to be violating China’s regulations, including supporting virtual currency mining.

China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate accuses the politician of taking bribes and abusing his office. His case is now under the Supreme People’s Procuratorate. Xiao is accused of attending wild events organized by mining firms and asking for favors to allow the firms to continue operating the illegal activities.

Crypto ban

After placing a ban on digital assets, China recently outlined operations to eradicate crypto mining activities this year. Additionally, the government insisted that crypto mining is risky and harmful to the climate. 

Meng Wei, the spokesperson for China’s National Development and Reform Commission, a macroeconomic planning agency, noted that the mining activities threaten their pursuit of carbon neutrality.

Xiao Yi went against the new laws regarding the illegality of cryptos. The state targets to attain carbon neutrality by 2060. Thus they are quite strict on individuals violating the new rules. 

Despite China’s banning crypto mining in June, it believes they have not completely expelled miners. The country is cracking down to eliminate loopholes to its ban.

Cracking down on any holdouts

Several Big Data firms have been involved in crypto mining-related activities illegally. They have done so masking under Industry 4.0-related research. The influential firms use corrupt officials to ensure they don’t get caught. However, Beijing is on a mission to eliminate these culprits.

Meng said China’s government would give severe punishment to any individual or company that continues to support crypto mining. State-owned companies will be under scrutiny too. 

Meng said that the local to the national level would deal with state-owned culprits that violate crypto laws. However, Meng did not give details on the punishments.

According to the Procuratorate, the government will use Xiao Yi as an example to those still operating secretly. No one is certain what penalties he will receive, but he will not get any favors.

The CCP began a corruption campaign earlier this year, and seven officials have been cut off. Xiao Yi is the first to be accused of violating crypto laws and the most senior. Chinese media has been reporting those linked with sending digital currency outside china. The government is now paying keen attention to foreign exchange market trading. 

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Edith Muthoni

Edith is an investment writer, trader, and personal finance coach specializing in investments advice around the fintech niche. Her fields of expertise include stocks, cryptocurrencies, blockchain, and cryptocurrency investments.

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