A Chinese national has pleaded guilty to her role in the world’s largest cryptocurrency seizure, totaling more than £5 billion ($6.7 billion).
Key Takeaways:
- Zhimin Qian pleaded guilty in London to orchestrating a multi-billion-dollar crypto fraud that led to the seizure of 61,000 BTC.
- The scam targeted over 128,000 victims in China, with funds laundered through property purchases and aided by accomplice Jian Wen.
- UK authorities called the seven-year investigation a major milestone in cracking down on crypto-based financial crime.
Zhimin Qian, also known as Yadi Zhang, appeared at London’s Southwark Crown Court on Monday, where she admitted to illegally acquiring and possessing tens of thousands of Bitcoins linked to a massive fraud operation in China.
According to the Metropolitan Police, Qian masterminded a large-scale investment scam in China between 2014 and 2017, targeting over 128,000 victims.
The stolen funds were funneled into Bitcoin, eventually amounting to 61,000 BTC seized by UK authorities.
The Met launched an investigation in 2018 following a tip-off about suspicious transfers of digital assets. After evading capture for years, Qian was eventually apprehended in the UK, where she had been living under a false identity.
Police said she had tried to launder the proceeds by purchasing high-value property.
“This was a painstaking, multi-jurisdictional investigation spanning seven years,” said Detective Sergeant Isabella Grotto, who led the case.
“Qian’s arrest and conviction mark a major breakthrough in targeting the illicit use of crypto assets.”
Qian was not acting alone. She was aided by Jian Wen, a former Chinese takeaway worker who helped launder the stolen funds.
Wen, 44, was sentenced last year to six years and eight months in prison after moving from modest living conditions above a restaurant to a luxury North London residence.
Authorities said she also acquired two Dubai properties worth over £500,000. The Met seized over £300 million in Bitcoin from Wen.
Court documents reveal that many victims of Qian’s scam were lured by promises of daily dividends and high returns, part of a fraudulent scheme that played on China’s enthusiasm for crypto assets at the time.
The victims reportedly included professionals and retirees, many persuaded to invest by friends or family.
Qian’s company projected itself as a tech-forward financial firm and claimed to support China’s ambition to become a global fintech hub. In reality, prosecutors say it was a front for a vast crypto fraud.
Qian is currently in custody pending sentencing.
As reported, physical attacks targeting Bitcoin and crypto holders are rising at an alarming rate, according to new data tracked by CASA co-founder Jameson Lopp.
Since late February, 35 new violent incidents have been reported globally, a 169% increase in just six and a half months.
The uptick adds to an already troubling trend, as cryptocurrency markets continue their bullish run.
In total, 48 attacks have occurred so far in 2025, marking a 33% increase over all of 2024. France alone has accounted for 14 of this year’s reported incidents.
One of the most disturbing cases took place on September 6 in Cambridge, Canada, where a young man was abducted at gunpoint and forced to transfer funds into a cryptocurrency wallet.
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