The second trial of the 660,000 yuan virtual currency theft case in Wuhan, China, has been revised: the amount of theft is determined based on the actual payment cost of the victim, and the main culprit is sentenced to ten years and six months in prison
According to the "Procuratorial Daily," Lin, Zeng, and Dai conspired to use virtual currency trading as a pretext. During the trading process, they secretly photographed the victim's digital wallet private key and, after the virtual currency was credited, secretly logged into the victim's wallet to reverse the transaction, transferring the relevant virtual currency back to their controlled accounts. The three committed the crime three times, causing the victim a total economic loss of 660,000 yuan.The first-instance court believed that, in the absence of a clear judicial interpretation regarding the calculation method of virtual currency value and sentencing standards, it was inappropriate to directly determine the amount involved as particularly huge based on the victim's purchase amount of 660,000 yuan. Therefore, they sentenced the three individuals to fixed-term imprisonment ranging from eight years to five years and six months, along with fines, based on "other serious circumstances." The Hanyang District Procuratorate of Wuhan City subsequently filed a protest, which was supported by the Wuhan City Procuratorate.The prosecution argued that the first-instance court's application of the law was incorrect and the sentencing was too lenient. Prosecutor Dai Wentao of the Wuhan City Procuratorate stated that, in a situation where the victim had a clear loss amount to reference, it was contradictory and legally erroneous to claim that the value of virtual currency could not be determined. In judicial practice, using the resale price or transaction price as the basis for determining the amount of theft has become mainstream, and determining the value of virtual currency based on the actual cost paid by the victim has factual, legal, and practical basis.The Intermediate Court of Wuhan accepted the prosecution's opinion in the second instance, revoked the corresponding content of the original judgment, and changed the determination of the theft amount to particularly huge. The principal offender Lin was sentenced to ten years and six months in prison for theft, while accomplices Zeng and Dai were each sentenced to eight years in prison, along with fines.