London Jails Woman After World's Largest Confirmed Bitcoin Seizure in $6.6B Fraud

Zhimin Qian, 47, has been sentenced to 11 years and eight months in a U.K. prison after authorities recovered more than 61,000 bitcoin linked to an international fraud that targeted predominantly retired investors.

Qian pleaded guilty to one count of possessing and one count of transferring criminal property — specifically cryptocurrency — under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Her associate, Seng Hok Ling, 47, who also pleaded guilty, received a sentence of four years and 11 months for transferring criminal property.

Massive seizure and ongoing recovery

During a search of Qian's rented Hampstead mansion in north London, investigators seized hard drives and laptops containing tens of thousands of bitcoin wallets. Authorities say the haul — in excess of 61,000 bitcoin — represents the largest confirmed seizure of cryptocurrency to date. Civil recovery proceedings are ongoing as prosecutors work to identify and return assets to victims.

How the scheme worked

Prosecutors say Qian persuaded more than 128,000 mainly retired investors between 2014 and 2017 to put money into a sham company that claimed to be developing advanced health technologies and running cryptocurrency-mining operations. Victims hope the recovered digital assets will help restore at least a portion of their losses; any remaining funds after compensation would be retained by the U.K. government under legal recovery rules.

“If we can gather all the evidence together, we hope the U.K. government, the Crown Prosecution Service and the High Court can show compassion,” one victim said, adding the fraud had devastated his family and that the bitcoin recovery offers the only realistic chance to recoup some losses.

Investigators’ and officials’ statements

Detective Constable Joe Ryan described Qian as the ringleader: intelligent, persuasive and manipulative, capable of convincing large numbers of people to invest. Attorney General Richard Hermes said Qian and Seng Hok Ling caused widespread misery to fund lavish lifestyles and praised close work between prosecutors and police in seizing significant cryptocurrency and securing convictions.

Will Lyne, head of the Metropolitan Police's Economic and Cybercrime Command, emphasized that criminal assets will not be safe in the U.K. and highlighted the force’s commitment to protecting the public and seeking justice for victims.

Lifestyle and evidence

Investigators say Qian lived extravagantly as bitcoin's market value rose. Her former assistant, Wen Jian, who was sentenced last year to six years, described Qian spending long periods shopping online and playing video games. Qian's recovered diary reportedly detailed grand ambitions — from founding an international bank to buying a Swedish castle — and included a note expressing a desire to be "queen" of a self-styled micronation; that entity's foreign affairs representative later said Qian had no contact with them.

Authorities continue tracing the assets and working through civil recovery channels to maximize restitution for victims.