A Chinese national has been convicted in London for her role in a record £5.5bn Bitcoin scam, believed to be the largest cryptocurrency seizure in the world. Zhimin Qian, also known as Yadi Zhang, admitted at Southwark Crown Court to illegally acquiring and holding tens of thousands of bitcoins obtained through large-scale fraud. The conviction follows years of investigations into a sophisticated money laundering operation that stretched across borders and involved thousands of victims.
Between 2014 and 2017, Qian orchestrated a fraudulent scheme in China that tricked more than 128,000 victims. Funds from the scam were converted into bitcoin, which she secretly stored. Investigators revealed that police eventually seized 61,000 bitcoins from her accounts, representing one of the largest cryptocurrency recoveries ever recorded in the UK.
Authorities said Qian used false documents to flee China and later entered the UK. Once there, she attempted to launder the stolen funds through property purchases and other transactions. Detectives confirmed that she evaded justice for nearly five years until her eventual arrest. The Metropolitan Police explained that the investigation began in 2018 after they received information about suspicious transfers of digital assets linked to Qian. The complex probe lasted seven years and required coordination between UK and Chinese law enforcement agencies. Detective Sergeant Isabella Grotto, who led the investigation, said the conviction came after years of meticulous work to trace how the stolen funds were moved across global networks.
Chinese Woman Convicted in Record £5.5bn Bitcoin Scam in UK
Qian was not acting alone. Another Chinese national, Jian Wen, was found guilty last year for assisting in laundering the stolen money. The former takeaway worker was sentenced to more than six years in prison.Officials highlighted that this case illustrates the growing role of digital currencies in organized crime. Robin Weyell, deputy chief Crown prosecutor, explained that criminals increasingly rely on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to hide assets and disguise the proceeds of fraud.
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“This case, involving the record £5.5bn Bitcoin scam, demonstrates the vast sums that can be stolen and hidden using digital platforms,” he said. Reports from Chinese media last year revealed that many of the investors defrauded by Qian were between 50 and 75 years old. They invested huge sums, sometimes millions of yuan, into her schemes. Some described her as the “female god of wealth,” though most had little knowledge of who she really was.
The Crown Prosecution Service has pledged to continue efforts to prevent the stolen assets from being reclaimed by the fraudsters. A compensation scheme in China has already returned some funds to the victims. Qian remains in custody and is awaiting sentencing, with a date yet to be confirmed. Police have said the investigation is ongoing, signaling that further revelations about the record £5.5bn Bitcoin scam may still come to light.
