A Chinese woman, Zhimin Qian also known as Yadi Zhang has pleaded guilty in London to her role in the world’s biggest-ever cryptocurrency seizure, worth more than £5bn ($6.7bn).
The 47-year-old admitted at Southwark Crown Court to illegally acquiring and holding tens of thousands of bitcoins, following a vast scam that defrauded more than 128,000 victims in China between 2014 and 2017.
According to the Metropolitan Police, Qian fled China using false documents and settled in the UK, where she tried to launder the stolen wealth by purchasing luxury property. She had been evading capture for five years before her arrest.
Detective Sergeant Isabella Grotto, who led the seven-year investigation, described the probe as “complex and international,” requiring coordination across multiple jurisdictions.
The Met confirmed it has seized more than 61,000 bitcoins linked to Qian the largest single cryptocurrency seizure in history.
Her accomplice, Jian Wen, a former takeaway worker, was jailed last year for six years and eight months for assisting in the money-laundering operation.
