LONDON – Zhimin Qian, a Chinese national who once lived a life of luxury under the alias Yadi Zhang, is facing up to 14 years in prison after being convicted for her central role in a multi-billion dollar Bitcoin fraud scheme, culminating in the UK’s largest-ever cryptocurrency seizure.
Qian, who styled herself as the “goddess of wealth,” pleaded guilty to acquiring and possessing criminal property on September 29. Her sentencing is set for a two-day hearing at London’s Southwark Crown Court, concluding a dramatic case that exposes the dark underbelly of international crypto crime and its devastating human cost.
According to police and prosecutors, Qian was the mastermind behind a massive Ponzi scheme in China. After fleeing the country in 2018 using false documents, she relocated to the United Kingdom to launder the proceeds of her fraud. Her method involved converting a significant portion of the victims’ money into Bitcoin and then attempting to clean the funds through high-value purchases, including a £23-million ($30-million) London mansion.
The Unravelling of a Scheme and a Record Seizure
The investigation into Qian’s network led to a series of major breakthroughs for UK authorities. Police surveillance on one of her accomplices, Malaysian national Seng Hok Ling, ultimately led to Qian’s arrest in April 2024. During the operation, authorities seized cash, gold, and cryptocurrencies totalling £11 million.
However, the most significant blow to the criminal enterprise came just before her arrest. The Metropolitan Police executed what they believe to be the largest cryptocurrency seizure in global history: more than 61,000 Bitcoins. Initially valued at a staggering amount, the seizure has since ballooned in value to over $6 billion due to Bitcoin’s meteoric rise, currently hovering around $100,000 per coin compared to just $3,600 at the end of 2018.
William Glover, a lawyer from the firm Fieldfisher, told AFP that the case was “possibly the largest legal case of its kind in terms of value involving an individual and not a corporate.”
A Trail of Financial and Emotional Ruin
While the numbers are astronomical, the case is fundamentally about the thousands of investors who suffered devastating losses. Lawyers representing the victims detailed how Qian’s operation lured in unsuspecting individuals by organizing public events and falsely claiming to have government support.
“People who were not seasoned investors and were not ‘going to check everything’ were drawn in and exploited,” said Jackson Ng of Duan & Duan, who represents several investors.
The human impact is profound. One Chinese couple, office workers in their 40s, lost hundreds of thousands of dollars—their entire retirement savings and fund for their daughter’s future—after attending a presentation in 2016. When the promised returns stopped in 2017, their financial security evaporated. The strain was so great that their daughter has since broken off all contact with them.
“Some of my clients had suffered enormous personal losses that had affected their lives, marriages and families,” Glover confirmed.
Co-Conspirators and Compensation
Qian was not acting alone. Her accomplice, Seng Hok Ling, also 47, has already admitted to money laundering and awaits sentencing. Another member of the scheme, Jian Wen, was convicted last year and jailed for six years and eight months after being found in possession of Bitcoin wallets worth over $2 billion.
As the criminal sentencing proceeds, a parallel civil case is underway in London’s High Court to determine a compensation scheme for the victims. The details are still being thrashed out, offering a glimmer of hope for those seeking to reclaim a portion of their lost funds from the historic $6 billion seizure.
The sentencing of Zhimin Qian will mark the final chapter in a saga that traversed continents, from a fraudulent Ponzi scheme in China to a high-life in London, and ultimately, to a UK prison cell.
