Caixin: Son of former Wuhan Supervisory Commission official laundered over HK$64 million in Hong Kong, claims part of the funds came from selling Bitcoin

According to Caixin, Xiao Rui—the son of Xiao Jun, former member of the Wuhan Municipal Supervisory Commission—is suspected of accepting bribes totaling approximately HK$4.72 million from mainland Chinese engineering contractors on behalf of his father and laundering over HK$64 million through underground banking channels. On June 23, the Hong Kong District Court found Xiao Rui guilty on all four counts of “money laundering” and one count of “using a false instrument,” with sentencing scheduled for July 23. In 2014, Xiao Rui was granted residency in Hong Kong; that same year, he purchased two funds from AIA Financial (AIA) via his HSBC account for HK$10 million to meet the investment requirement under the relevant immigration scheme. Between January 2016 and September 2017, multiple remittances totaling over HK$54 million were deposited into Xiao Rui’s Standard Chartered and DBS accounts. Regarding the “money laundering” charges, Xiao Rui argued in court that the large sums involved represented legitimate business earnings of his mother, who gifted the money to him for investment in Hong Kong, and that part of the funds originated from Bitcoin sales. The judge rejected this testimony, citing Xiao Rui’s failure to provide any basic transaction records—such as dates, transaction IDs, or wallet addresses—related to the alleged Bitcoin sales.