Ko Wen-je sentenced to 17 years in first trial! The indictment did not mention Bitcoin, and the claim of "Xiao Shen 1500" 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 embroiled in the Jinghua City corruption case and political donation case. The Taipei District Court today announced the first-instance verdict. According to reports from PTS News, Ko Wen-je is involved in 3 cases and 4 charges, with a combined sentence of 17 years in prison and a 6-year deprivation of civil rights; the entire case is still subject to appeal.
The first-instance verdict results for other defendants are as follows:

• Chairman of Weijing Group Shen Qingjing sentenced to 10 years
• Taipei City Councilor Ying Xiaowei sentenced to 15 years and 6 months
• Former Deputy Mayor Peng Zhensheng sentenced to 2 years with 3 years of probation
• Former Director of the Taipei City Urban Development Bureau Huang Jingmao sentenced to 6 years and 6 months
• Former Chief Engineer of the Urban Development Bureau Shao Xiuping sentenced to 1 year and 3 months with 3 years of probation

In the political donation case, former Treasurer Li Wenzong was sentenced to 4 years and 6 months, Mukeco Company head Li Wenjuan was sentenced to 2 years and 4 months, and accountant Duan Muzheng was sentenced to 1 year.
Current Chairman of the People’s Party Huang Guochang responded to the verdict by saying:
“Hearing the result of the first-instance verdict for the founding chairman Ko Wen-je in court was hard to believe, and my feelings have yet to settle. I apologize for not being able to explain everything to everyone fully before seeing the reasoning behind the judgment.”

Image source: Huang Guochang | Facebook Ko Wen-je’s Jinghua City case first-instance verdict announced, Huang Guochang responds

Looking back at Ko Wen-je’s case timeline, 2028 presidential election hopes dashed
Looking back at 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 ordered to be detained and prohibited from meeting in September 2024, and in December of the same year, he was prosecuted by the Taipei District Prosecutor’s Office, facing a sentence of 28 years and 6 months. After approximately one year of detention, Ko Wen-je was released on bail in September 2025.
The prosecution accused Ko Wen-je of benefiting from and accepting bribes in the Jinghua City case, and involved in public interest embezzlement and breach of trust in the political donations and public expectations foundation case, committing four offenses.
According to the regulations of the presidential and vice-presidential election and recall laws, those who have not had a final judgment on a death penalty, life imprisonment, or a prison sentence of ten years or more, or who are deprived of civil rights and have not regained them, cannot register as presidential candidates.
This also means that after the first-instance sentence of 17 years was announced, even if the case is not finalized, Ko Wen-je can no longer run for the 2028 presidential election.

Indictment counters celebrity opinions; no mention of Bitcoin or cold wallets
During the investigation period of Ko Wen-je’s case, there were frequent rumors that Ko’s USB contained cryptocurrencies. Previous reports mentioned that some commentators and media had repeatedly discussed the possibility of Ko’s thumb drive being a cold wallet, even claiming that “Little Shen 1500” recorded in Excel represented 1,500 Bitcoins. In political commentary programs, some commentators even stated that the presentation software PowerPoint was also “virtual currency,” sparking heated discussions and ridicule online.
However, a compilation by Crypto City of the indictment and press release published by the Taipei District Prosecutor’s Office at the end of 2024 found that there was no mention of virtual currencies, cold wallets, or Bitcoin at all.
The indictment stated that the Excel file discovered on Ko Wen-je’s external hard drive contained a record marked 1500, which was recognized as a note of receiving a cash bribe of 15 million yuan from Shen Qingjing, with no relation to cryptocurrencies.
However, in today’s court hearing, the court only recognized that Ko Wen-je received 2.1 million yuan from Shen Qingjing, with the “Little Shen 1500” part being acquitted, as the workbook file was created by Ko Wen-je, and “Little Shen” was confirmed to be Shen Qingjing, but there was a lack of strong evidence that both parties accepted the 15 million yuan bribe.