A Chinese national has been convicted in London for her role in what authorities believe to be the world’s largest single cryptocurrency seizure, worth more than £5bn ($6.7bn).
Zhimin Qian, also known as Yadi Zhang, pleaded guilty on Monday at Southwark Crown Court to illegally acquiring and holding bitcoin.
According to the Metropolitan Police, Qian orchestrated a vast fraud in China between 2014 and 2017, deceiving more than 128,000 victims and storing the proceeds in cryptocurrency. Detectives said her conviction follows a seven-year investigation into an international money-laundering network.
Officers seized 61,000 bitcoins linked to Qian — the largest cryptocurrency recovery ever made in the UK.
Police said the case began in 2018 following a tip-off about the transfer of criminal assets. Qian had been “evading justice” for five years before her arrest, said Detective Sergeant Isabella Grotto, who led the investigation.
Using false documents, Qian fled China and entered the UK, where she attempted to launder the funds by purchasing property, the Met said.
She was aided by Jian Wen, a 44-year-old former takeaway worker, who was jailed last year for six years and eight months for helping move the stolen assets. Wen, who had once lived above a restaurant, relocated in 2017 to a “multi-million pound rented house” in North London and bought two properties in Dubai worth more than £500,000, according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
Police seized bitcoin valued at more than £300m from Wen. Although she claimed the assets and property purchases were on behalf of an employer in China, prosecutors argued the scale of the holdings and the absence of credible evidence pointed to criminal origins.
Chinese magazine Lifeweek reported in 2024 that most of Qian’s investors were aged between 50 and 75, many persuaded by friends or relatives to commit “hundreds of thousands to tens of millions” of yuan to her schemes. Promising daily dividends and guaranteed profits, Qian’s company claimed it would help make China a global financial hub. She was reportedly dubbed the “goddess of wealth” by followers.
“Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are increasingly used by organised criminals to conceal and move assets,” said Robin Weyell, deputy chief Crown prosecutor. “This case, involving the largest cryptocurrency seizure in the UK, highlights the scale of proceeds available to fraudsters.”
Will Lyne, head of the Met’s Economic and Cybercrime Command, said Monday’s guilty plea represented the “culmination of years of dedicated investigation” conducted alongside Chinese law enforcement.
The CPS said efforts continue to prevent fraudsters from reclaiming the stolen funds. Many victims in China have already received partial compensation through a government scheme.
Qian remains in custody ahead of sentencing, for which a date has not yet been set.
The BBC has sought comment from the Chinese embassy in London.
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