Chinese woman convicted in UK after ' biggest' Bitcoin seizure
4 hours ago
- #International Crime
- #Bitcoin Fraud
- #Money Laundering
- Chinese national Zhimin Qian (Yadi Zhang) convicted in a major international fraud case involving bitcoin.
- 61,000 bitcoins worth over £5bn seized, marking the largest single cryptocurrency seizure globally.
- Qian led a scam in China (2014-2017) defrauding 128,000+ victims, storing stolen funds in bitcoin.
- Malaysian national Seng Hok Ling admitted to laundering money on Qian's behalf.
- Qian fled China using false documents, attempted to launder money in the UK via property purchases.
- Confiscation proceedings initiated to recover £16.2m from Ling, adjusted for crypto rates at sentencing.
- UK government may retain seized funds under recent crime legislation reforms.
- Jian Wen, a co-conspirator, jailed for laundering scam proceeds, living luxuriously in London.
- Victims, mostly elderly, invested heavily in Qian's scheme, lured by her 'goddess of wealth' image.
- Qian's sentencing set for November 10, with Ling also required to appear.