Chinese woman convicted after 'world's biggest' bitcoin seizure

Qian Zhimin, also known as Yadi Zhang, pleaded guilty on Monday at Southwark Crown Court of illegally acquiring and possessing the cryptocurrency.

Malaysian national Seng Hok Ling, of Matlock, Derbyshire, pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court of entering into a money laundering arrangement on or before 23 April 2024.

According to the charge, he had been dealing in cryptocurrency on Qian's behalf, "knowing or suspecting his actions would facilitate the acquisition or control of criminal property by another".

Between 2014 and 2017 Qian led a large-scale scam in China which involved cheating more than 128,000 victims and storing the stolen funds in bitcoin assets, the Met said in a statement.

It said the 47-year-old's guilty plea followed a seven-year probe into a global money laundering web which began when it got a tipoff about the transfer of criminal assets.

Qian had been "evading justice" for five years up to her arrest, which required a complex investigation involving multiple jurisdictions, said Detective Sergeant Isabella Grotto, who led the Met's investigation.

She fled China using false documents and entered the UK, where she attempted to launder the stolen money by buying property, said the Met.

"By pleading guilty today, Ms Zhang hopes to bring some comfort to investors who have waited since 2017 for compensation, and to reassure them that the significant rise in cryptocurrency values means there are more than sufficient funds available to repay their losses," said Qian's solicitor Roger Sahota, of Berkeley Square Solicitors.

On Tuesday, the Court heard that confiscation proceedings had begun in an effort to retrieve more than £16.2 million from Ling, with the figure to be adjusted to reflect cryptocurrency rates when he is sentenced in November.

Some reports have suggested the UK government will seek to retain the seized funds.

The BBC has approached the Treasury and the Home Office for a response.

Reforms to crime legislation under the previous Conservative government aimed to make it easier for the UK authorities to seize, freeze and recover crypto assets.

The changes would also allow some victims to apply for the release of their assets held in accounts.