$7.3B Bitcoin Chinese Woman Pleads Guilty in World’s Biggest Crypto Theft

A 47-year-old Chinese national, Zhimin Qian, has pleaded guilty in Britain to charges connected to a multi-billion-dollar cryptocurrency fraud and laundering scheme that authorities say led to the “world’s largest” crypto seizure, valued at more than $7.3 billion.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed Monday that Qian, also known as Yadi Zhang, admitted to acquiring and possessing criminal property in the form of cryptocurrency. The charges are linked to a massive fraud operation she allegedly ran in China between 2014 and 2017, which defrauded over 128,000 victims.

Investigators said Qian converted the illicit proceeds into Bitcoin and later fled to Britain in 2018 using false documents. She attempted to launder the funds by purchasing property. After a seven-year investigation, her guilty plea was entered in a U.K. court this week.

“This is one of the largest money laundering cases in U.K. history and among the highest-value cryptocurrency cases globally,” said Will Lyne, head of the Metropolitan Police’s Economic and Cybercrime Command. “I am extremely proud of the team whose hard work brought us here.”

Authorities revealed that Qian had ties to Jian Wen, a 44-year-old former restaurant worker who was sentenced to more than six years in prison earlier this year for her role in the scheme. Wen helped Qian purchase properties worth more than $672,000 in Dubai in 2019 and was found with a crypto wallet containing over $403 million. She told police she believed she was assisting a Chinese national and denied knowing the funds were criminal in origin.

The Metropolitan Police ultimately seized more than 61,000 Bitcoin from Qian, making it the largest cryptocurrency confiscation in the United Kingdom to date.

Prosecutors said the case highlights how digital currencies are increasingly being used by organized criminals to conceal and transfer assets. “This case illustrates the staggering scale of proceeds available to fraudsters who exploit cryptocurrency,” said Robin Weyell, deputy chief crown prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service.