Masterminds of a massive crypto fraud linked to a China investment scheme are sentenced following the UK’s record 60,000-Bitcoin seizure.
A Chinese national and her accomplice were sentenced Tuesday in London for laundering funds from a massive investment fraud in China, involving more than 128,000 victims and losses of roughly 600 million pounds ($790.6 million), the Crown Prosecution Service said.
Zhimin Qian, also known as Yadi Zhang, 47, was sentenced to 11 years and eight months at Southwark Crown Court after pleading guilty to possession and transfer of criminal property, offenses connected to laundering the proceeds of the fraud. Her accomplice, Malaysian national Seng Hok Ling, 47, received a sentence of four years and 11 months for a money laundering offense.
The convictions follow a Metropolitan Police investigation that led to the seizure of over 60,000 Bitcoin - the largest cryptocurrency seizure ever in the U.K. - along with cash, gold, and encrypted devices. The CPS said the criminal assets currently used by Qian are valued at around 4.8 billion pounds ($6.32 billion).
Police said the investigation, which spanned seven years, included surveillance that ultimately led to the arrest of both Qian and Ling in April 2024. Leaked data shows Ling Seng Hok bought two luxury properties in Dubai, as OCCRP reported a month ago. A couple years later, he was arrested in the U.K. for moving proceeds from a massive investment scam in China.
Prosecutors said Qian orchestrated the massive fraud in China between 2014 and 2017, during which victims, some of whom invested life savings and pensions, lost millions. She converted roughly 20.2 million pounds ($26.6 million) of the proceeds into Bitcoin and fled to the U.K., where she tried to use the cryptocurrency to purchase high-value properties and jewelry.
Investigators said Ling, who helped Qian move the funds, also acquired additional luxury properties abroad. Police seized more assets from both defendants, including cash, gold, and encrypted devices, during their arrests in April 2024.
The case was described as “the largest cryptocurrency seizure by law enforcement in the U.K. and the largest money laundering case in U.K. history by value,” with cross-border cooperation and cryptocurrency tracing playing a crucial role, according to Will Lyne, head of the Met’s Economic and Cybercrime Command.
He noted that organized crime groups are increasingly using cryptocurrency to move, hide, and invest the profits of serious crime, but “every crypto transaction leaves a trace, and the Met works meticulously with partners to follow that digital trail, identify assets, and bring offenders to justice.”
Neil Colville, Unit Head Prosecutor for the Regional and Wales Division of the CPS Serious Economic, Organized Crime and International Directorate, said the investigation involved years of detailed work to ensure criminal assets remain beyond offenders’ reach.
