A Chinese national who masterminded a massive £5.5 billion Bitcoin investment scam has been sentenced to nearly 12 years in prison at Southwark Crown Court, following one of the UK's most significant cryptocurrency seizures.
The Elusive Fugitive and Her Luxury Lifestyle
Zhimin Qian, also known as Yadi Zhang, admitted to operating a sophisticated Ponzi scheme that deceived more than 128,000 victims in China between 2014 and 2017 through her business, Lantian Gerui. After Chinese authorities began investigating her activities, the 47-year-old fled to the UK in September 2017, beginning nearly six years as an international fugitive.
During her time at large, Qian lived extravagantly, travelling extensively across Europe while staying in upmarket hotels and sightseeing. She rented a lavish property in London's exclusive Hampstead area, paying £17,333 per month after falsely claiming to run a successful jewellery business to estate agents.
The Unravelling of a Billion-Pound Scheme
The sophisticated operation began to collapse when Qian attempted to purchase a £12.5 million London property in 2018, raising suspicions about her Bitcoin transactions. Metropolitan Police officers executed a search warrant at her Hampstead home in October 2018, though Qian successfully concealed her identity by providing the fake name Yadi Zhang.
The breakthrough came in April 2024 when police visited an address in York and discovered Qian along with several electronic devices, including a laptop containing a cryptocurrency wallet holding millions of pounds worth of Bitcoin. She was subsequently arrested and charged with money laundering offences.
Sentencing and Accomplice
Qian received a sentence of 11 years and eight months after pleading guilty to money laundering offences, transferring criminal property, and possessing criminal property in the form of cryptocurrency. Her accomplice, 47-year-old Seng Hok Ling, was sentenced to four years and 11 months after admitting to transferring criminal property.
The court heard that Ling played a "subservient role" to Qian, whom he referred to as the "boss lady". Prosecutors revealed that during Qian's European travels, "Bitcoin was transferred and sold in exchange for cash, fine jewellery bought and property in Europe considered for purchase".
When Qian and Ling were convicted in September, the seized Bitcoin was valued at more than £5.5 billion, though its current value stands at approximately £5 billion, still representing the largest cryptocurrency seizure in UK history.
