A London court has sentenced a Chinese woman to nearly 12 years in prison for orchestrating one of the biggest money laundering operations in British history, a vast scheme that saw billions in stolen funds converted into Bitcoin, luxury property, and cash.
Zhimin Qian, 47, also known as Yadi Zhang, was handed an 11-year, eight-month sentence by Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday after being found guilty of money laundering and possessing illegally obtained cryptocurrency.
The investigation led UK police to seize a staggering 61,000 Bitcoin, worth about £4.8bn ($6.3bn), the largest cryptocurrency seizure and money laundering case ever recorded in the UK.
Prosecutors said Qian helped run an investment scam in China between 2014 and 2017 that defrauded some 128,000 victims of around £4.6bn. While much of the money was later recovered by Chinese authorities, Judge Sally-Ann Hales noted that “a sizeable amount was siphoned off and used by” Qian, who stashed about 70,000 Bitcoin on a laptop wallet.
Qian fled China in 2017 and spent years evading capture, moving between the UK and countries without extradition treaties. She came under UK scrutiny in 2018 after attempting to buy three luxury London properties worth £40.5m ($53.2m), failing “know your customer” checks.
When police searched a safe deposit box tied to her, they discovered the laptop holding the digital fortune. Court documents also revealed “grandiose ambitions” and massive monthly spending, Hales said.
Qian resurfaced in 2024 when she tried to access the dormant Bitcoin wallet with the help of Senghok Ling, a 47-year-old Malaysian accomplice. When police raided their lavish home, they found £62m ($81.4m) in cryptocurrency, cash, and two fake passports.
Ling was sentenced separately to four years and 11 months.
UK Attorney General Richard Hermer called the sentencing “a landmark moment,” praising investigators for taking down “two prolific fraudsters who caused misery to thousands of victims to fund their lavish lifestyles.”
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