Zhimin Qian, a 47-year-old Chinese national also known as Yadi Zhang, has admitted guilt in a London court for her leading role in a massive Bitcoin fraud case, considered one of the largest cryptocurrency seizures in history. The Southwark Crown Court heard that Qian orchestrated a large-scale scam between 2014 and 2017 in China, duping over 128,000 victims and accumulating illegal proceeds stored as Bitcoin assets.
After years on the run, Qian was arrested in the UK and charged with money laundering and possession of criminal property worth over £5.5 billion (approximately €6.3 billion). The investigation, spanning seven years and involving cooperation between UK and Chinese authorities, uncovered over 61,000 Bitcoins seized from Qian’s digital wallets, making it among the highest-value cryptocurrency cases globally.
Qian allegedly fled China using false documents and attempted to launder the illegally obtained funds by purchasing property in the UK. Another Chinese woman, Jian Wen, who aided in the money laundering, was convicted in 2024 and sentenced to six years and eight months in prison.
The UK Crown Prosecution Service highlighted the increasing use of cryptocurrencies by organized criminals to disguise and transfer illicit assets. They are working to ensure that the criminal assets remain beyond the reach of the fraudsters through both criminal confiscation and civil proceedings.
Zhimin Qian awaits sentencing, with the trial marking the culmination of painstaking work following one of the largest money laundering operations linked to cryptocurrency worldwide.
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