Kuan-teh Ko sentenced to 17 years in first trial! The indictment did not mention Bitcoin, and the claim of "Little Shen 1500" was overturned.

Author: Ariel, Crypto City

Ko Wen-je’s Jinghua City case first-instance verdict released
Former chairman of the Taiwan People’s Party, Ko Wen-je, is embroiled in the Jinghua City corruption case and political donation case. The Taipei District Court announced the first-instance verdict today. According to reports from PTS News Network, Ko Wen-je is sentenced to 17 years in prison for 4 crimes in 3 cases, and is deprived of public rights for 6 years. The entire case is still subject to appeal.
The first-instance verdicts for other defendants are as follows:

• Chairman of Wei-Jing Group, 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 a 3-year probation
• Former Director of the Taipei City Urban Development Bureau, Huang Jing-mao, sentenced to 6 years and 6 months
• Former Chief Engineer of the Urban Development Bureau, Shao Hsiu-pei, sentenced to 1 year and 3 months with a 3-year probation

In the political donation case, former finance director, Li Wen-zong, was sentenced to 4 years and 6 months, while the person in charge of Mu Ke Company, 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 Taiwan People’s Party, Huang Guo-chang, responded to the verdict stating:
“Hearing the first-instance verdict of the founding chairman Ko Wen-je in court was unbelievable, and my emotions are still difficult to calm down. I apologize for not being able to fully explain to everyone until I see the reasons for the judgment.”

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

Looking back at the timeline of Ko Wen-je’s case, 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 detained and prohibited from meeting in September 2024, and in December of the same year, he was indicted by the Taipei District Prosecutor’s Office, facing a sentence of 28 years and 6 months. After about a 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 in the political donation and public welfare foundation case, he was involved in public fund misappropriation and breach of trust, committing four crimes.
According to the regulations of the presidential and vice-presidential election recall law, individuals sentenced to death, life imprisonment, or imprisonment for ten years or more that are not yet finalized, or deprived of public rights without restoration, cannot register as presidential candidates.
This also means that after the first-instance sentence of 17 years was released, even if the case has not been finalized, Ko Wen-je can no longer run for the 2028 presidential election.

Indictment contradicts media speculation, no mention of Bitcoin or cold wallets
During the investigation period 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 had repeatedly discussed that Ko Wen-je’s flash drive might be a cold wallet, even claiming that “Xiao Shen 1500,” noted in Excel, represented 1,500 Bitcoins. In political commentary programs, some commentators even claimed that the presentation software PowerPoint was also “virtual currency,” sparking heated discussions and ridicule online.
However, according to a compilation by Crypto City of 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 Bitcoin.
The indictment stated that the Excel file discovered in Ko Wen-je’s external hard drive indicated that the record marked 1500 was identified as a note of receiving 15 million NT dollars in cash bribes from Shen Qing-jing, with no relation to cryptocurrency.
However, during today’s court hearing, the court only recognized that Ko Wen-je received 2.1 million NT dollars from Shen Qing-jing, while the “Xiao Shen 1500” part was found not guilty, as the workbook file was created by Ko Wen-je, and “Xiao Shen” was confirmed to be Shen Qing-jing, but there was a lack of strong evidence that both parties had received a bribe of 15 million NT dollars.