(Yicai) Jan. 15 -- In a special program analyzing the case of Yao Qian, China Central Television reported that the former director of China Securities Regulatory Commission's technology regulation department and information center accepted Ethereum bribes worth about CNY68.3 million (USD9.8 million) at the peak of the cryptocurrency.

A special task force conducted an in-depth investigation and found that in 2018, a businessman surnamed Zhang asked Yao for assistance with his firm's token issuance financing project, according to CCTV's report aired late yesterday. Yao accepted and asked a virtual currency exchange to issue the tokens to the company, raising 20,000 Ethereum, with Zhang giving Yao 2,000 Ethereum as a "token of appreciation."

Yao, who previously served as the director of the Digital Currency Research Institute of the People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, was placed under investigation in April 2024.

The task force utilized blockchain technology to trace the transaction chain of the 2,000 Ethereum from Zhang's wallet address to Yao's wallet address in 2018, CCTV said. They also uncovered a complete record of Yao transferring 370 Ethereum in 2021, converting them into CNY10 million.

While no apparent anomalies were found with Yao's personal accounts, a cross-check using big data revealed that several bank accounts opened under other identities were actually controlled by him, Zou Rong, a worker from the CSRC's Discipline Inspection and Supervision Group, said during the program. By tracing the flow of large sums in and out of these accounts, it was confirmed that the funds originated from a virtual currency trading platform, Zou added.

Gold, cash, and valuable items were common in quid pro quo transactions, or the exchange of something for something, in traditional corruption cases, but new forms have emerged with the continuous development of virtual currencies in the digital age.

Virtual currencies have a degree of concealment, but they are also publicly traceable across the entire network, meaning that anyone at any time can check the transaction records of any blockchain address, including the inflow and outflow of virtual currencies, Zou said.

The decentralized nature of blockchain technology determines this transparency, Zou pointed out. When virtual assets eventually convert into tangible assets, they become highly susceptible to exposure, Zou stressed.

Editor: Martin Kadiev