Xiaotong Huang arrested in money-laundering case; read report
A student, Xiaotong Huang, who laundered almost £85,000 for a Chinese crime don based in Glasgow has been imprisoned for 18 months.
Xiaotong Huang, 28, used the funds from a man called Wai Ma – who went by “Mr Big” – to pay her student expenses and buy luxury things for nearly two years.
Ma went around Scotland in a Mercedes, giving bags of cash to associates to clean. Huang refused the charge but was found guilty of funds laundering linked with organised severe crime in March.
Sums computing £160,000 were washed through four of her bank statements. However, she was condemned for laundering £84,912 in total.
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The court heard an investigation of Huang’s accounts revealed that between June 2019 and April 2021, she had banked almost £160,400 with Santander, Monzo and Starling banks.
Almost £56,000 was deposited in money.
At the time, she was coursing for a master’s in publishing at the University of Stirling. Around £32,000 had been transferred foreign, and £31,000 had been used to pay the university for tuition expenses and housing.
Over £37,000 had been used to buy high-value articles from designers and retailers, including Gucci, Harrods, and Louis Vuitton. Tens of thousands of pounds and £7,000 worth of costly wine purchased in a single day were shipped to China.
