Chinese Fraudster Pleads Guilty to Laundering Nearly $7B in Bitcoin

Zhimin Qian, also known as Yadi Zhang, has pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court to charges of acquiring and holding criminal property totalling 61,000 Bitcoin, valued at close to US$7 billion (AU$10.64 billion).

Qian is accused of masterminding a fraudulent investment scheme in China between 2014 and 2017, which defrauded approximately 128,000 investors. After transferring the proceeds into Bitcoin, she left China in 2017 using fraudulent documents and entered the UK, where she later sought to launder the money by buying property with the help of accomplice Jian Wen. 

Wen was convicted of laundering part of the funds and sentenced to six years and eight months in prison, in addition to a confiscation order exceeding £3 million (AU$6.12 million).

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Unprecedented Bitcoin Recovery

Authorities raided a property in Hampstead, north London, in 2018 and discovered the digital wallets containing the Bitcoin. Initially worth about £1.4 billion (AU$2.86 billion), the assets are now estimated at over £5 billion (AU$10.64 billion). Police have described it as the world’s largest cryptocurrency seizure and one of the most complex financial crime investigations ever undertaken in the UK.

Will Lyne, who heads the Metropolitan Police’s economic and cybercrime command, praised the collaboration between UK and Chinese authorities, emphasising the years of coordinated investigative work required to reach this outcome.

This is one of the largest money-laundering cases in UK history and among the highest-value cryptocurrency cases globally. I am extremely proud of the team.

Will Lyne, Head of Economic and Cybercrime, Metropolitan Police

Qian appeared in court assisted by a Mandarin interpreter, with sentencing to follow at a later date. Legal disputes over the recovered cryptocurrency continue, with challenges expected regarding ownership claims from investors, many of whom are still attempting to prove the legitimacy of their losses.

Zhang’s solicitor, Roger Sahota of Berkeley Square Solicitors, said that her guilty plea was intended to offer reassurance to investors, highlighting that the substantial rise in cryptocurrency values meant there should be more than enough funds available for repayment.

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