Redazione RHC : 13 November 2025 08:34
A London court has sentenced 47-year-old Chinese woman Zhimin Qian , also known as Yadi Zhang, to 11 years and eight months in prison for laundering bitcoin obtained through the largest cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme in Chinese history. Between 2014 and 2017, the scheme defrauded over 128,000 people, costing them over $7.3 billion in cryptocurrency.
The international investigation, conducted by British and Chinese law enforcement agencies, lasted seven years and led to the seizure of 61,000 bitcoins. At the time of their seizure, their value had risen to approximately $7.3 billion.
This is the largest cryptocurrency seizure in UK history , surpassing even the seizure of more than 94,000 bitcoins worth $3.6 billion by the US Department of Justice in 2022 in connection with the Bitfinex hack.
In addition to Bitcoin, law enforcement seized assets worth £11 million ($14.4 million) from Zhimin Qian, including crypto wallets, encrypted devices, cash, and gold.
From 2014 to 2017, Qian ran a massive Ponzi scheme called Lantian Gerui (meaning “Blue Sky” in Chinese) in China . The company claimed to invest in high-tech healthcare products and mine Bitcoin, and ultimately raised over 40 billion yuan (about $5.6 billion) from approximately 130,000 investors, promising returns ranging from 100% to 300%. Many victims of the scheme invested their entire retirement savings and other assets into the scheme.
At the time, Qian earned the nickname “Bitcoin Queen” because she actively promoted cryptocurrencies in general and Bitcoin in particular, calling them “digital gold.”
In 2017, when the Ponzi scheme failed and attracted the attention of Chinese authorities, Qian converted all the funds he received from “investors” into Bitcoin and fled to the UK under a false name, entering the country with false documents.
Arriving in the UK in September 2017, Qian hired assistants and rented a mansion in an exclusive London neighborhood for £17,000 (about $23,000) a month. She traveled throughout Europe and Southeast Asia, staying in luxury hotels and purchasing expensive jewelry and watches. She also attempted to launder cryptocurrency by purchasing luxury properties in London and Dubai.
In October 2018, British law enforcement received information about an attempted sale of criminal assets in London and launched an investigation. Authorities then tracked down Qian and searched her London home. However, the scammer was living under the alias Yadi Zhang, and at that point, investigators were unaware of her true identity.
After the raid, Qian fled London and evaded justice for nearly six years. She was only arrested in 2024 in York. Her assistant and accomplice had previously been arrested in May 2021 at the same house and subsequently sentenced to six years and eight months in prison for aiding and abetting money laundering.
According to media reports , during the search, police found Qian’s diary, in which she had written down her “aspirations and intentions.” For example, she wanted to become queen of Liberland, a self-proclaimed state between Croatia and Serbia, and also dreamed of “meeting the Duke and members of the royal family.”
In addition to Qian and Wen, another 47-year-old participant in the fraud, a Derbyshire resident who helped Qian rent properties and handled cryptocurrency transfers, was convicted. He received a four-year and 11-month sentence for transferring illegally obtained assets (cryptocurrencies), although his lawyer stated that he was unaware of the full extent of Qian’s crimes.
It’s worth noting that the seized bitcoins may now be used to compensate victims or retained by British authorities. A decision on this matter has not yet been made, and the UK Treasury has not yet commented on the situation.
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