£5bn Bitcoin scammer is jailed for money laundering

The mastermind behind a scam which led UK police to make their largest-ever cryptocurrency seizure of more than £5bn in Bitcoin has been jailed.

- GEORGIA BATES

Zhimin Qian, 47, was yesterday sentenced at Southwark Crown Court to 11 years and eight months in prison. She had pleaded Guilty of money laundering and possessing and transferring criminal property.

Qian, a Chinese national, defrauded more than 128,000 victims between 2014 and 2017 through a Ponzi scheme in China. She then fled to the UK.

She had stored the illegally obtained funds in Bitcoin assets and spent years evading UK police by sightseeing across Europe, staying in upmarket hotels, and living a life of "luxury", the court heard.

Qian, also known as Yadi Zhang, was eventually arrested in 2024. Her accomplice Seng Hok Ling, 47, was sentenced at the same court to four years and 11 months in prison. He had pleaded guilty to one count of transferring criminal property.

When Qian and Ling were convicted in September, the value of the Bitcoin was more than £5.5bn, according to Metropolitan Police officers.