Police hailed the conviction of Chinese national Zhimin Qian as the culmination of one of the largest money laundering investigations in UK history. Image: The Financial Times.
(The Post News)– A Chinese woman, Zhimin Qian, has been convicted in Britain over the seizure of what is believed to be the world’s largest-ever amount of cryptocurrency, a staggering £5.5bn in Bitcoin.
Qian, 47, also known as Yadi Zhang, admitted to having and dealing in criminal property at Southwark Crown Court. She is accused of orchestrating one of China’s biggest-ever financial scams before fleeing to the UK, which led to a seven-year worldwide investigation.
In 2017 and 2014, Qian swindled more than 128,000 Chinese investors into putting money into bogus schemes promising wealth. Bank staff and entrepreneurs made up the victims, who invested their lifetime savings after friends or family members introduced them to her scams.
Police say that she ripped off billions of pounds from unsuspecting investors and invested the money in cryptocurrency due to its untraceability. She attempted to clean it by purchasing a property in London.
Escape to the UK
Qian entered the UK in September 2017 using a counterfeit St. Kitts and Nevis passport. She occupied a rented £5 million six-bedroom property on the fringes of Hampstead Heath, North London.
Police raided the property in October 2018 but could not initially track down the entire extent of her hidden assets. Detectives traced the trail of more than 61,000 Bitcoin to her cryptocurrency wallets two and a half years later.
It was then worth £1.4bn and now, it is worth more than £5bn and is at the heart of an acrimonious court fight involving Chinese investors and the UK government. Qian, wearing spectacles and a beige cardigan over a leopard-print shirt, appeared in court on Monday with the aid of a Mandarin interpreter. She nodded to confirm her identity before entering a guilty plea.
Judge Sally-Ann Hales remanded Qian into custody for sentencing. Prosecutor Gillian Jones KC also indicated no application would be made for immediate forfeiture since current High Court proceedings will determine what to do with the confiscated crypto assets.
Qian was not alone. Her fellow conspirator, Jian Wen, aged 44, was previously sentenced to six years and eight months for laundering 150 Bitcoin, now worth £12.5m. Wen, who was originally a Chinese takeaway employee, helped Qian launder the money trail. She transformed overnight from living above a restaurant to renting a multi-million-pound house in London. The Crown Prosecution Service revealed Wen also bought luxury flats in Dubai worth more than £500,000.
The authorities later confiscated more than £300 million worth of Bitcoin associated with Wen. Prosecutors emphasized that she did not orchestrate the fraud but was instrumental in channeling the criminal money.
The Metropolitan Police welcomed Qian’s conviction as a milestone in global cybercrime enforcement. This is one of the largest money laundering probes in the history of the UK and one of the largest value crypto cases globally,” Met head of economic and cybercrime command Will Lyne said.
Investigation lead Detective Sergeant Isabella Grotto noted the challenge: “When our unit encountered Zhimin Qian, she had been in hiding for five years. Her arrest initiated a complex probe using evidence from all jurisdictions and scrutiny of thousands of documents.”
Victims vs. UK Treasury: Who Gets the Bitcoin?
The case now raises a difficult question: who is the owner of the Bitcoin? Chinese victims aged 50 to 75 have lobbied for compensation. But sources suggest Chancellor Rachel Reeves could redirect the cash to help plug gaps in Britain’s public finances.
Qian’s attorney, Roger Sahota, said she pleaded guilty in part to reassure victims: “Ms. Zhang is hoping to reassure investors who have waited since 2017 for recompense and to bring comfort to them that the huge increase in the value of cryptocurrencies means that more than sufficient funds are in place to settle losses.”
UK Security Minister Dan Jarvis added that the conviction demonstrates Britain will not be a safe haven for fraudulent scammers around the world. “Moneylending erodes trust, underpins our economy, and finances organized crime. This conviction shows the UK will act with resolve, whether or not it is on scale.” Qian is in custody to await sentencing, while a date is yet to be set.
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