Chinese Woman Convicted After ‘World’s Biggest’ Bitcoin Seizure

A Chinese national has been found guilty in the United Kingdom in relation to what authorities have called the world’s most significant single cryptocurrency seizure, valued at over £5.5 billion.

Zhimin Qian, also known by the alias Yadi Zhang, admitted guilt at Southwark Crown Court on Monday, September 29, to charges of illegally acquiring and possessing vast amounts of illicit funds, which were converted into bitcoin.

The Metropolitan Police reported that Qian, aged 47, orchestrated a massive fraud scheme in China from 2014 to 2017, deceiving over 128,000 individuals. The illicit gains were concealed in bitcoin wallets, with at least 61,000 bitcoins subsequently confiscated by law enforcement.

“Between 2014–2017, Zhang orchestrated a large-scale fraud in China through defrauding over 128,000 victims and went on to store the illegally obtained funds in bitcoin assets,” the Met said in a statement.

Having fled China using forged documents, Qian arrived in the UK in September 2018. Authorities stated she sought to clean the stolen funds by investing in real estate with assistance from an accomplice, Jian Wen.

Her apprehension concluded a seven-year global investigation spanning multiple countries and involving the examination of thousands of records. Detective Sergeant Isabella Grotto, who spearheaded the investigation, described the outcome as the result of “years of painstaking work.”

“When our team located Zhimin Qian, she had been evading justice for five years, and her arrest triggered a complex investigation requiring evidence from multiple jurisdictions and the careful review of thousands of documents,” she said.

Will Lyne, head of the Met’s Economic and Cybercrime Command, added: “This is one of the largest money laundering cases in UK history and among the highest-value cryptocurrency cases globally.”

Wen, a 44-year-old former takeaway worker, was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison last year for her part in assisting Qian with laundering the proceeds. Prosecutors noted that Wen’s abrupt transition from residing above a restaurant to a multimillion-pound rented home in London, coupled with purchases including Dubai properties valued at over £500,000, aroused suspicion. Investigators subsequently connected her to cryptocurrency transactions exceeding £300m in value.

According to the Crown Prosecution Service, “Met investigators proved she had been involved in facilitating the movement of a cryptocurrency wallet, which contained 150 bitcoin. At the relevant time this was valued at £1.7m.”

Qian remains in custody as she awaits her sentencing.

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Nnamdi Okoli