A Chinese fraudster caught in York has been jailed after masterminding a scam that led UK police to make the world’s largest ever cryptocurrency seizure of Bitcoin worth more than £5.5 billion.
Zhimin Qian, 47, defrauded more than 128,000 victims in China through a Ponzi scheme before fleeing to the UK as an international fugitive.
After six years on the run, Metropolitan Police tracked her down to her accomplice’s address in York and arrested her.
Qian had stored the illegally obtained funds in Bitcoin assets and spent her years on the run sightseeing across Europe, staying in upmarket hotels and living a life of “luxury”, Southwark Crown Court heard.
The businesswoman, also known as Yadi Zhang, was sentenced to 11 years and eight months at the same court on Tuesday after previously admitting money laundering offences and transferring and possessing criminal property, namely cryptocurrency.
Her accomplice, Seng Hok Ling, 47, was also sentenced to four years and 11 months in prison after pleading guilty to transferring criminal property over his role in the multibillion-pound fraud.
When Qian and Ling were convicted in September, the value of the Bitcoin was priced at more than £5.5 billion, according to Metropolitan Police officers.
It is understood that the value is constantly changing, and is currently priced at around £5 billion.
Gillian Jones KC, prosecuting, told the sentencing hearing that Qian had defrauded more than 128,000 victims between 2014 and 2017 through her business Lantian Gerui.
Qian eventually came to the attention of Chinese authorities, prompting her to flee the country before eventually arriving in the UK in September 2017.
In September, Qian started renting a “lavish” property in Hampstead, London, having told an estate agent a “lie” that she ran a successful jewellery business.
The monthly rent for this property was £17,333, the court heard.
The sentencing hearing was told that Qian travelled “extensively” throughout Europe in the months and years that followed, staying in expensive hotels and sightseeing.
It was heard that during these trips, “Bitcoin was transferred and sold in exchange for cash, fine jewellery bought and property in Europe considered for purchase”.
In 2018, Qian attempted to purchase a £12.5 million property in London and after suspicions were raised over her Bitcoin, UK authorities were notified.
Metropolitan Police officers visited her Hampstead home to execute a search warrant in October 2018.
Qian provided the fake name of Yadi Zhang to officers, and the court heard that at this stage, the police did not know who she was.
They discovered laptops in her property with millions of pounds worth of Bitcoin contained on them.
Fraudster Zhimin Qian is arrested in bed in York Image: Metropolitan Police (Image: Met Police)
No arrests were made at that stage and Qian fled the country after this raid.
The court heard that in a later discovery, officers found documents recording Qian’s “aspirations and intentions”.
The court heard that one of these detailed her intention to become the “monarch of Liberland”, which is a “self-proclaimed country” consisting of a strip of land between Croatia and Serbia.
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The court heard that for nearly six years, Qian managed to “evade arrest” and was ultimately “at large”.
Then police spotted a transfer of Bitcoin, which led them to identify Seng Hok Ling at an address in York.
Police visited the address in April 2024, discovered Qian and arrested her.
Authorities discovered several devices at Qian’s address, including a laptop containing a cryptocurrency wallet with millions of pounds worth of Bitcoin.
The court heard Ling, a Malaysian national who lives in Derbyshire, had provided assistance to Qian, including by arranging rental properties for her to live in.
Richard Thomas KC, mitigating on behalf of Qian, said his client has “no previous convictions” and has maintained an “exemplary record” while in custody.
Narita Bahra KC, representing Ling, said her client did not know the “full extent” of Qian’s criminality and described her as the “boss lady”.
She said: “This was a subservient role for Mr Ling.
“The first defendant (Qian) was described as ‘boss lady’, ‘the boss’, and all the evidence points to that being the position that Mr Ling acted on the direction of the first defendant.”
She said Ling, who had a previous conviction for fraud, did not have any “enrichment beyond employment payments”.
Following sentencing, the Metropolitan Police’s head of economic and cybercrime command, Will Lyne, said the investigation was one of the “largest and most complex” the force had ever undertaken.
“This outcome is the result of seven years of dedicated investigation by specialist teams from across the Met,” he said.
“There is no doubt this is one of the largest and most complex economic crime investigations we have ever undertaken, and today’s sentence would not have been possible without working closely with our partners from the Crown Prosecution Service, National Crime Agency and Chinese law enforcement.
“Our message is clear – criminal assets are not safe in the UK. The Met remains committed to protecting the public and this outcome shows the lengths we will go to secure justice for victims.”
Neil Colville, unit head prosecutor in the Serious Economic Organised Crime and International Directorate of the Crown Prosecution Service, said they will look to seize Bitcoin worth around £4.8 billion used by Zhimin Qian.
“The CPS will now work to ensure, through criminal confiscation and civil proceedings, that the criminal assets remain beyond the fraudsters’ reach to firstly freeze and then look to seize the very large quantity of cryptocurrency and other assets, currently worth around £4.8 billion, used by Zhimin Qian to fund her extravagant lifestyle.,” he said.