A Chinese woman has been sentenced to 11 years and eight months in prison for orchestrating Britain's largest cryptocurrency money laundering scheme involving £5.5 billion in bitcoin.
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Zhimin Qian, 47, was described by prosecutors as the mastermind behind the unprecedented case that resulted in the largest cryptocurrency seizure in UK criminal history. Police discovered seven cryptocurrency wallets containing funds exceeding any previous global confiscation records.
The court heard that Qian fled China in 2017 using a fake St Kitts and Nevis passport after allegedly defrauding 128,000 investors through a Ponzi scheme that promised 300 percent returns. She had entered the UK with millions obtained from the scheme targeting government officials, businesspeople and ordinary citizens.
During six years living under multiple false identities in the UK, Qian maintained a lavish lifestyle, renting luxury properties in London's Hampstead, York and Scotland while employing staff including butlers and drivers. Her extravagant spending included £44,000 on Zurich jewelry, £90,000 on Harrods clothing and over £110,000 on Van Cleef & Arpels watches.
The scheme unraveled when Qian attempted to purchase two London properties worth over £35 million using bitcoin, triggering bank money laundering alerts. Her assistant Jian Wen was unable to explain the source of the bitcoin funds during police questioning.
Metropolitan Police officers eventually located Qian at a residential property in York where she was found sleeping in bed. During her arrest, officers discovered a key in her clothing that led to a cryptocurrency wallet containing £6.6 million in digital assets.
Judge Sally Ann Hales condemned Qian's "pure greed" and disregard for her victims while living a life of luxury. The case represents one of the "largest and most complex economic crime investigations ever conducted" according to Metropolitan Police officials.
