"Vest accounts," issuing tokens, purchasing villas, Yaoqian's 2000 ETH bribery chain is revealed

Source: CCTV-1

Editor: KarenZ

Summary

In 2018, a cryptocurrency industry boss named Zhang sought help from Yao Qian through Jiang Guoqing for a token issuance and financing project for his company. Yao Qian accepted the request, contacted a virtual currency exchange, and helped his company successfully issue tokens, raising 20,000 ETH. Subsequently, Zhang presented Yao Qian with 2,000 ETH as a token of appreciation.

On the evening of January 14, 2026, the documentary special “One Step Unstoppable, Half Step Unyielding,” jointly produced by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and National Supervisory Commission and CCTV, aired on CCTV-1. The fourth episode, “Technology Empowers Anti-Corruption,” revealed the entire chain of virtual currency flow reconstructed on the blockchain based on the characteristics of virtual currencies, as attempted by the case team.

Yao Qian, former Director of the Science and Technology Supervision Department of the China Securities Regulatory Commission and former Director of the Digital Currency Research Institute of the People’s Bank of China, was placed under investigation in April 2024. The case team, composed of the Central Discipline Inspection and National Supervisory Commission’s disciplinary inspection group stationed at the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the Guangdong Province Shanwei City Supervisory Committee, handled this case.

As the investigation deepened, it was found that several large-scale financial transactions involving Yao Qian employed new forms of corruption and covert corruption, including the acceptance of virtual currencies.

Using blockchain technology, the case team traced the flow of 2,000 ETH from Zhang’s ETH wallet to Yao Qian’s ETH wallet in 2018, and also uncovered a complete record of Yao Qian transferring out 370 ETH in 2021 to exchange for 10 million yuan. Confronted with solid evidence, Yao Qian had no choice but to admit his disciplinary and illegal violations.

The case team once found a hardware wallet in a drawer of Yao Qian’s office. Additionally, they strictly followed regulations, discipline, and law, fully utilizing big data and information technology to conduct a comprehensive investigation into Yao Qian’s activities, discovering relevant traces. According to the account information checked legally, although Yao Qian’s personal account showed no obvious anomalies, cross-referencing big data revealed several bank accounts opened under others’ names, which were actually his “alias accounts” under his control.

Tracing the flow of large sums into and out of these “alias accounts,” after following the source of a 10 million yuan transaction through four layers of penetration, it was found that the funds likely originated from a virtual currency trader’s account. Shortly after the 10 million USD arrived in Yao Qian’s “alias account,” it was used to pay part of the down payment for a villa in Beijing. The villa, with a total price of over 20 million yuan, was registered under a relative of Yao Qian but was actually owned by him. All the purchase funds came from his “alias account.”

In addition, two other large deposits totaling 12 million yuan were also used for the house payment. The source of these funds was also highly complex.

The case team’s investigation revealed that these funds came from an information service company controlled by businessman Wang. Further investigation found that Yao Qian used his authority to assist this company in providing technological services in the securities and futures industry, forming a complete chain of evidence for this 12 million yuan benefit transfer.

Wang disclosed that in this financial transaction, Yao Qian’s subordinate Jiang Guoqing participated in almost every large-scale financial transaction involving Yao Qian, especially when Yao Qian accepted virtual currency bribes. Jiang Guoqing had previously followed Yao Qian into the Digital Currency Research Institute of the People’s Bank of China and the Science and Technology Department of the CSRC. He was both a trusted confidant of Yao Qian and a pawn in his corruption path. Many bosses involved in the financial transactions with Yao Qian were introduced or had their demands conveyed by Jiang Guoqing, who also took a share of the benefits.

In 2018, a cryptocurrency industry boss named Zhang sought help from Yao Qian through Jiang Guoqing for a token issuance and financing project for his company. Yao Qian accepted the request, contacted a virtual currency exchange, and helped his company successfully issue tokens, raising 20,000 ETH. Subsequently, Zhang presented Yao Qian with 2,000 ETH as a token of appreciation.