Chinese 'Crypto-Queen' Jailed in UK After £5bn Bitcoin Laundering
Zhimin Qian receives 11-year sentence for orchestrating large-scale Ponzi fraud and converting its proceeds into over 61,000 bitcoin
A Chinese national, Zhimin Qian, was sentenced in London on 11 November 2025 to eleven years and eight months in prison after being convicted for laundering the proceeds of a major investment fraud in China.
Prosecutors found that between 2014 and 2017, Qian’s firm defrauded approximately 128,000 investors of around forty billion renminbi (roughly US$5.6 billion) and channelled part of the funds into over sixty-one thousand bitcoins, now valued at more than £5 billion (US$6.6 billion).
Qian pleaded guilty in September to two counts of money-laundering—acquiring and possessing criminal property under the Proceeds of Crime Act—following one of the largest, multi-jurisdictional investigations in Britain’s economic crime history.
Evidence showed she fled China in 2017 using a false St Kitts & Nevis passport and travelled via Myanmar, Thailand and Laos before arriving in the UK, where she lived under a false identity.
Police recovered devices and wallets in 2018 that held the bitcoin assets, seized from a London property and safety-deposit box.
The digital hoard stood at 61,000 bitcoins, constituting Britain’s biggest crypto seizure to date.
Her accomplice, Ling Seng Hok, a Malaysian national, also received a sentence of four years and eleven months for his role in laundering the assets.
Judge Sally-Ann Hales told Qian she had been the architect of the offending from its inception to its conclusion and that her motive was “pure greed”.
Prosecutors added that some victims lost their life savings, homes or marriages as a result of the fraud.
Meanwhile, British authorities are preparing civil enforcement proceedings to determine how the seized bitcoin will be distributed and whether victims will be compensated from the assets.
The case highlights the increasing use of cryptocurrencies in organised economic crime and the way UK law-enforcement agencies are tackling such schemes across borders.
While the criminal phase has concluded, the enforcement and compensation phase remains ongoing as victims press for redress and authorities work to secure the digital assets for recovery.
Prosecutors found that between 2014 and 2017, Qian’s firm defrauded approximately 128,000 investors of around forty billion renminbi (roughly US$5.6 billion) and channelled part of the funds into over sixty-one thousand bitcoins, now valued at more than £5 billion (US$6.6 billion).
Qian pleaded guilty in September to two counts of money-laundering—acquiring and possessing criminal property under the Proceeds of Crime Act—following one of the largest, multi-jurisdictional investigations in Britain’s economic crime history.
Evidence showed she fled China in 2017 using a false St Kitts & Nevis passport and travelled via Myanmar, Thailand and Laos before arriving in the UK, where she lived under a false identity.
Police recovered devices and wallets in 2018 that held the bitcoin assets, seized from a London property and safety-deposit box.
The digital hoard stood at 61,000 bitcoins, constituting Britain’s biggest crypto seizure to date.
Her accomplice, Ling Seng Hok, a Malaysian national, also received a sentence of four years and eleven months for his role in laundering the assets.
Judge Sally-Ann Hales told Qian she had been the architect of the offending from its inception to its conclusion and that her motive was “pure greed”.
Prosecutors added that some victims lost their life savings, homes or marriages as a result of the fraud.
Meanwhile, British authorities are preparing civil enforcement proceedings to determine how the seized bitcoin will be distributed and whether victims will be compensated from the assets.
The case highlights the increasing use of cryptocurrencies in organised economic crime and the way UK law-enforcement agencies are tackling such schemes across borders.
While the criminal phase has concluded, the enforcement and compensation phase remains ongoing as victims press for redress and authorities work to secure the digital assets for recovery.
