$7.43 Billion in Bitcoin Seized as Chinese Fraudster Finally Convicted in UK
The Metropolitan Police have secured what’s believed to be the world’s largest cryptocurrency seizure, valued at greater than £5.5 billion, equal to roughly $7.43 billion, following a seven-year investigation into worldwide cash laundering.
Zhimin Qian, 47, a Chinese nationwide, was convicted at Southwark Crown Court on Monday, twenty ninth September, after pleading responsible to buying and possessing prison property in the type of cryptocurrency below the Proceeds of Crime Act (2002). Qian, additionally identified as Yadi Zhang, orchestrated a large-scale fraud in China between 2014 and 2017.
During this era, the Metropolitan Police mentioned that Qian defrauded over 128,000 victims earlier than changing the proceeds into Bitcoin.
Multi-Year Fraud Operation
The investigation was first launched in 2018 following intelligence on the switch of prison property, and led to the seizure of 61,000 Bitcoin from Qian. After fleeing China utilizing false paperwork, she entered the UK and tried to launder the illicit funds by buying property, allegedly with the help of an confederate, Jian Wen.
Following the conviction, Will Lyne, The Met’s Head of Economic and Cybercrime Command, said,
“Today’s responsible plea marks the end result of years of devoted investigation by the Met’s Economic Crime groups and our companions. This is among the largest cash laundering circumstances in UK historical past and among the many highest-value cryptocurrency circumstances globally. I’m extraordinarily happy with the crew. Through a meticulous investigation and unprecedented cooperation with Chinese regulation enforcement, we had been capable of acquire compelling proof of the prison origins of the cryptoassets Qian tried to launder in the UK.”
Qian has been taken into custody and can be sentenced at a later date.
Accomplice Jailed Too
As a part of the broader investigation into worldwide crypto-related fraud, Wen acquired a jail sentence final yr for her participation in the scheme. Evidence introduced by the Met’s financial crime crew revealed that she assisted in shifting a cryptocurrency pockets holding 150 Bitcoin, price £1.7 million on the time, about $2.3 million.
Southwark Crown Court sentenced her on 22 May 2024 to 6 years and eight months in jail.
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