Zhimin Qian, a national of China who also goes by Yadi Zhang, pleaded guilty in a United Kingdom court to one of the largest cryptocurrency fraud and money laundering cases ever.
According to prosecutors, Qian illegally gained and possessed 61,000 Bitcoin, which is worth approximately $7 billion.
Qian’s guilty plea comes after a seven-year investigation by the Metropolitan Police into an investment scheme that scammed more than 128,000 victims in several countries.
Authorities characterized the case as a landmark example of crypto-related prosecution and one of the largest money laundering operations ever discovered in the United Kingdom.
Details of the Fraudulent Scheme and Escape
Based on the evidence gathered, it was discovered that Qian’s crimes occurred from 2014 to 2017.
Within that time, Qian was reported to have organized a multimillion-dollar crypto scam that defrauded victims of billions of dollars, all of which she later converted to Bitcoin.
In 2018, she departed China using counterfeit documents and arrived in the UK, where she impoverished her wealth through purchasing prestigious properties with money laundering activities.
To facilitate her laundering, she acted through an accomplice, Jian Wen. Wen was ultimately convicted of money laundering, ordered to pay $3 million, and sentenced to over 6 years in prison.
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The World’s Largest Crypto Seizure
Between 2018 and 2021, the Metropolitan Police confiscated 61,000 Bitcoin believed to belong to Qian, which they described as the world’s largest ever seizure of cryptocurrency.
The authorities commented on the difficulties of the operation, which required global partnerships and advanced methods of tracking cyber criminals.
“This is one of the largest money laundering cases in the UK and one of the largest value cryptocurrency cases globally,” Will Lyne, who is head of the MPS economic and cyber crime command, said.
The size of the seizure not only highlights the increase of digital assets used within criminal networks but also law enforcement’s ability to track down crypto crime and disrupt the criminal economy.
“Organised criminals increasingly use bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to conceal and transfer assets so that fraudsters can exploit the benefits of their criminal behaviour,” said CPS Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor Robin Weyell.
She said the CPS is committed to working with law enforcement and investigatory agencies across the globe to prosecute crypto fraudsters.
We earlier reported last year that Qian previously pleaded not guilty to the charges in October 2024 and was remanded in custody, pending sentence.
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Wider Pattern of Global Crypto Fraud Cases
Qian’s situation is an example of a growing list of globally significant crypto fraud convictions.
In July 2024, a woman was sentenced to 8.5 years in prison in Arizona for supporting North Korean operatives with hacks into U.S. cryptocurrency companies, according to UnoCrypto.
Likewise, we reported that two former executives of the crypto lender Cred were sentenced to 8 years in federal prison for their fraudulent scheme involving $150 million during the 2020 crash.
These cases illustrate a global crackdown on cryptocurrency-related fraud schemes and money laundering, as regulators and law enforcement take a closer look at this fast-growing digital asset industry.
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