national Zhimin Qian (钱志敏; left pic), aka Yadi Zhang, has been convicted of playing a key role in what is believed to be the single largest cryptocurrency seizure in the world, worth more than £5B ($6.7B). Qian pleaded guilty to illegally acquiring and possessing the cryptocurrency at Southwark Crown Court, London, on Sep 29.
Between 2014 and 2017, she led a large-scale scam in China by cheating more than 128,000 victims and storing the stolen funds in bitcoin assets.
Qian's guilty plea follows a 7-year probe into a global money laundering web. The probe began in 2018 after the police got a tipoff about the transfer of criminal assets.
Qian had been "evading justice" for five years up to her arrest, which required a complex investigation involving multiple jurisdictions.
She fled China using false documents and entered the UK, where she attempted to launder the stolen money by buying property.
She had help from another national Jian Wen (right pic). The former takeaway worker was jailed for six years and eight months last year for her part in the criminal operation.
The Met had seized a total of 61,000 bitcoins from Qian.
The investigation is still ongoing.
In 2024, Chinese media reported that investors, mostly between 50 and 75 years old, poured "hundreds of thousands to tens of millions" of yuan into schemes promoted Qian.
The investors reportedly knew little about Qian, who was described as "the female god of wealth".
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is working to ensure the fraudsters do not get hold of the stolen funds. The CPS said last year that many of the victims had some of their money returned to them by a compensation scheme established in China.
Qian is being held in custody ahead of sentencing. The date of her sentencing has yet to be fixed.
https://bbc.com/news/articles/cy0415kk3rzo.amp…
national Zhimin Qian (钱志敏; left pic), aka Yadi Zhang, has been convicted of playing a key role in what is believed to be the single largest cryptocurrency seizure in the world, worth more than £5B ($6.7B). Qian pleaded guilty to illegally acquiring and possessing the cryptocurrency at Southwark Crown Court, 
London, on Sep 29.
Between 2014 and 2017, she led a large-scale scam in China by cheating more than 128,000 victims and storing the stolen funds in bitcoin assets.
Qian's guilty plea follows a 7-year probe into a global money laundering web. The probe began in 2018 after the police got a tipoff about the transfer of criminal assets.
Qian had been "evading justice" for five years up to her arrest, which required a complex investigation involving multiple jurisdictions.
She fled China using false documents and entered the UK, where she attempted to launder the stolen money by buying property.
She had help from another 