Ko Wen-jeyi is sentenced to 17 years in his first trial! The indictment did not mention Bitcoin, and the “Xiao Shen 1500” claim was overturned

Author: Ariel, Crypto City

Ko Wen-je’s Jinghua City Case First Instance Verdict Announced
Former chairman of the People’s Party, Ko Wen-je, is involved in the Jinghua City corruption case and political donation case. The Taipei District Court today announced the first-instance verdict. According to reports from Public Television Service News Network, Ko Wen-je is implicated in three cases and four charges, which together carry a 17-year prison sentence and a six-year deprivation of public rights. The case remains subject to appeal.
The first-instance verdicts for other defendants are as follows:

• Wei Jing Group Chairman Shen Qing-jing sentenced to 10 years
• Taipei City Councilor Ying Xiao-wei sentenced to 15 years and 6 months
• Former Deputy Mayor Peng Zhen-sheng sentenced to 2 years with 3 years probation
• Former Director of the Taipei City Department of Urban Development Huang Jing-mao sentenced to 6 years and 6 months
• Former Chief Engineer of the Urban Development Department Shao Xiu-pei sentenced to 1 year and 3 months with 3 years probation

In the political donation case, former finance director Li Wen-zong was sentenced to 4 years and 6 months, while Mu Ke Company responsible person Li Wen-juan was sentenced to 2 years and 4 months, and accountant Duan Mu-zheng was sentenced to 1 year.
Current chairman of the People’s Party, Huang Guo-chang, responded to the verdict saying:
“Hearing the first-instance verdict of founding chairman Ko Wen-je in court was hard to believe, and my feelings are still unsettled. I apologize for not being able to fully explain to everyone before seeing the reasons for the judgment.”

Image source: Huang Guo-chang | Facebook Ko Wen-je’s Jinghua City Case First Instance Result Announced, Huang Guo-chang Responds

Reviewing the timeline of Ko Wen-je’s case, the 2028 presidential election appears unlikely
Reviewing the timeline of the Ko Wen-je Jinghua City case, the Taipei District Prosecutor’s Office began investigating the Jinghua City case in May 2024 and searched Ko Wen-je’s residence in August of the same year. Ko Wen-je was detained and forbidden from seeing others in September 2024, and in December of that year, the Taipei District Prosecutor’s Office indicted him, seeking a sentence of 28 years and 6 months. After about one year of detention, Ko Wen-je was released on bail in September 2025.
Prosecutors accused Ko Wen-je of benefiting from and accepting bribes in the Jinghua City case, and in the political donation and public welfare foundation case, he was charged with embezzlement of public funds and breach of trust, totaling four criminal offenses.
According to the presidential and vice-presidential election recall law, those sentenced to death, life imprisonment, or a fixed-term sentence exceeding ten years that has not been finalized, or who are deprived of public rights and have not been restored, are ineligible to register as presidential candidates.
This means that even if the first-instance sentence of 17 years is announced, Ko Wen-je will be unable to run in the 2028 presidential election, regardless of whether the case is finalized.

Indictment contradicts celebrity opinions; no mention of Bitcoin or cold wallets
During the investigation of Ko Wen-je’s case, there were frequent rumors that Ko Wen-je’s USB contained cryptocurrency.
Previous reports mentioned that some commentators and media speculated that Ko Wen-je’s USB drive might be a cold wallet, and even claimed that the record “Xiao Shen 1500” in Excel represented 1,500 bitcoins. Some political commentary programs even referred to PowerPoint as “virtual currency,” sparking online debates and ridicule.
However, according to the indictment and press release published by the Taipei District Prosecutor’s Office at the end of 2024, there was no mention of virtual currency, cold wallets, or bitcoins.
The indictment states that prosecutors found an Excel file on Ko Wen-je’s external hard drive, with a record marked 1500, which was interpreted as a note indicating the receipt of 15 million NTD in cash bribes from Shen Qing-jing, with no relation to cryptocurrency.
In today’s court hearing, the court only recognized that Ko Wen-je received 2.1 million NTD from Shen Qing-jing. The “Xiao Shen 1500” record was acquitted, as the workbook file was created by Ko Wen-je, and “Xiao Shen” was confirmed to be Shen Qing-jing. However, there is a lack of strong evidence that both parties received the 15 million NTD bribe.