A Chinese woman has pleaded guilty to money laundering after police uncovered the UK’s largest cryptocurrency seizure, worth more than £5.5 billion in Bitcoin.
Zhimin Qian, 47, also known as Yadi Zhang, admitted acquiring and possessing criminal property at Southwark Crown Court, the Metropolitan Police confirmed on Monday. Her guilty plea follows a seven-year investigation into international money laundering.
According to police, Qian defrauded more than 128,000 victims in China between 2014 and 2017 and stored the proceeds in Bitcoin. She was described by Scotland Yard as playing a “leading role” in the vast fraud scheme.
In 2018, Qian fled China using false documents and entered the UK, where she attempted to launder the illicit funds through property purchases with the help of Jian Wen. Wen, a former takeaway worker, was jailed last year after police discovered Bitcoin wallets in her possession valued at more than £2 billion.
Robin Weyell, deputy chief Crown prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: “Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are increasingly being exploited by organised criminals to hide assets and benefit from fraudulent activity. This case, involving the UK’s largest cryptocurrency seizure, highlights the enormous sums criminals attempt to move through these networks.”
Will Lyne, head of the Met’s Economic and Cybercrime Command, called the case one of the largest money laundering investigations in UK history and among the highest-value cryptocurrency cases globally. “Through meticulous investigation and unprecedented cooperation with Chinese law enforcement, we gathered compelling evidence of the criminal origins of the assets,” he said.
Detective Sergeant Isabella Grotto, who led the investigation, praised her team and international partners. “When we located Zhimin Qian, she had been evading justice for five years. Her arrest triggered a complex, multi-jurisdictional investigation involving thousands of documents. Today’s outcome reflects years of hard work across the UK and China.”
The CPS said Qian’s guilty plea marks the culmination of years of collaboration between the Metropolitan Police, Crown Prosecution Service, the National Crime Agency, and Chinese law enforcement in Tianjin and Beijing.
