A Chinese woman who orchestrated one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency frauds has been sentenced to 11 years and eight months in prison by a UK court after defrauding tens of thousands of investors in a multibillion-dollar bitcoin Ponzi scheme.
Qian Zhimin, 47, known as the “Goddess of Wealth”, masterminded a fake investment operation in China between 2014 and 2017 that promised returns of up to 300%. The scheme duped around 128,000 people, raising billions of dollars, much of which was later converted into bitcoin.
Following increased scrutiny from Chinese authorities, Qian — also known as Zhang Yadi — fled to Britain in 2017 and lived lavishly for years while evading capture. She travelled across Europe, stayed in luxury hotels, and spent extravagantly on jewellery, including two watches worth nearly £120,000.
British police launched a years-long investigation, ultimately seizing 61,000 bitcoin, worth more than £5 billion (US$6.6 billion) — the largest cryptocurrency seizure in UK history. Qian was arrested in York in April 2024 after police surveillance of one of her accomplices led to her location.
Appearing before Southwark Crown Court in London, Qian pleaded guilty in September to possessing and transferring criminal property. Judge Sally-Ann Hales described her crimes as “highly sophisticated and motivated by pure greed.”
“She never set out to commit fraud but recognises her investment schemes were fraudulent and misled those who trusted her,” her lawyer Roger Sahota said, adding that Qian was “deeply sorry for the distress suffered by investors.”
Her Malaysian accomplice, Ling Seng Hok, also 47, was sentenced to four years and 11 months for his role in the scheme. Another associate, Wen Jian, received a six-year and eight-month sentence in 2023.
Detective Will Lyne, head of the Metropolitan Police’s economic and cybercrime command, said the seven-year probe was among the “largest and most complex” investigations ever undertaken by the force, involving close cooperation with Chinese law enforcement.
UK authorities are now working to establish a compensation scheme for victims, with over 1,300 claims already submitted to London’s High Court.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson confirmed that Beijing and London are cooperating on cross-border fugitive tracking and asset recovery related to the case.
