Image Courtesy: Metropolitan Police
A London court has convicted Chinese national Zhimin Qian, also known as Yadi Zhang, in connection with what is being called the world’s biggest bitcoin seizure. Authorities uncovered more than 61,000 bitcoins during their investigation, a stash that today would be worth over £5 billion, marking it as one of the most staggering cases of crypto-related fraud and money laundering in history.
The case stems from a massive fraud operation in China between 2014 and 2017, where over 128,000 victims were deceived. According to BBC News, Qian later fled the country under false identities and continued laundering funds abroad, including through London real estate and luxury purchases.
Her conviction follows years of cross-border investigations, which first came to light in 2018 when UK authorities raided a Hampstead mansion. There, they seized electronic devices containing access to the enormous crypto fortune. Investigators spent years untangling the sophisticated laundering scheme, which relied on a network of accomplices and shell companies to disguise the origins of the funds.
One of those accomplices, Jian Wen, had already been sentenced in 2024 for helping Qian channel bitcoin profits into tangible assets such as property. Wen’s involvement provided prosecutors with key evidence that ultimately led to Qian’s downfall.
The scale of the case has made it a landmark for British law enforcement. Not only does it highlight the growing challenges regulators face in tracking digital currencies, but it also shows how modern fraud operations are increasingly global in scope. Financial watchdogs have praised the outcome as proof that even vast sums of cryptocurrency are not beyond the reach of investigators once they intersect with traditional banking and property systems.
Civil recovery proceedings are now underway to reclaim the billions in bitcoin for restitution to victims. Qian remains in custody and will be sentenced later this year, a decision that will likely send a powerful message to would-be crypto fraudsters around the world.
The conviction underscores how cryptocurrencies, once marketed as anonymous and untouchable, are now firmly in the crosshairs of global financial authorities. For Qian, what was once billed as the perfect crime has become a record-setting cautionary tale.