£5bn Bitcoin scammer behind UK’s largest-ever cryptocurrency seizure jailed
The mastermind behind a scam worth more than £5bn in Bitcoin that led to UK police making the largest ever seizure of cryptocurrency has been jailed.
Zhimin Qian, 47, was sentenced to 11 years and eight months in prison at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday.
He previously pleaded guilty to money laundering and possession and transfer of criminal property.
Qian, a Chinese national, defrauded more than 128,000 victims through a pyramid scheme in China between 2014 and 2017. He later fled to England as an international fugitive.
Southwark Crown Court heard he stashed illegally obtained funds in Bitcoin holdings and spent years evading UK police by traveling around Europe, staying in luxury hotels and living a life of “luxury”.
Qian, also known as Yadi Zhang, was arrested in 2024 after being “on the run” for nearly six years.
His accomplice, 47-year-old Seng Hok Ling, was sentenced to four years and 11 months in prison by the same court.
He had previously pleaded guilty to transferring criminal property.
Bitcoin was worth more than £5.5bn when Qian and Ling were sentenced in September, according to Metropolitan Police officers.
It is understood that its value is constantly changing and is currently priced at around £5bn.
Prosecutor Gillian Jones KC told the sentencing hearing that Qian defrauded more than 128,000 victims through his business Lantian Gerui.
Qian eventually came to the attention of Chinese authorities, prompting him to flee the country before arriving in the UK in September 2017.
In the United Kingdom, Qian recruited an accomplice named Jian Wen to help him “make a new life”.
In September, Qian began renting a “lavish” property in Hampstead, London, by telling a “lie” to an estate agent that he was running a successful jewelery business.
The court heard the monthly rent for this property was £17,333.
The sentencing hearing was told that Qian traveled “extensively” throughout Europe in the months and years that followed, staying in expensive hotels and taking excursions.
During these trips, it was heard that “Bitcoin was transferred and sold for cash, fine jewelry was purchased, and properties were being considered for purchase in Europe.”
Qian and Wen spent £119,200 to buy two watches from a jeweler in Zurich, Switzerland, in one trip.
Qian tried to buy a £12.5 million property in London in 2018 and UK authorities were notified after suspicions were raised about his Bitcoin.
Metropolitan Police officers visited his home in Hampstead to execute a search warrant in October 2018.
Qian gave officers the false name of Yadi Zhang and the court heard police did not know who he was at this stage.
Officers discovered laptops containing millions of pounds worth of Bitcoin at his property.
No arrests were made at that stage and Qian fled the country following this raid.
The court heard that during a later discovery officers found documents recording Qian’s “wishes and intentions”.
The court heard one of them detailed his intention to become “ruler of Liberland”, a “self-proclaimed country” consisting of a strip of land between Croatia and Serbia.
The court heard Qian managed to “evade arrest” for nearly six years and ultimately “escaped”.
Meanwhile, Wen was arrested at his Hampstead address in London in May 2021 and subsequently charged with money laundering.
A Bitcoin transfer was made while his trial was ongoing, leading police to identify Seng Hok Ling at an address in York.
Police visited the address in April 2024 and discovered Qian.
Authorities discovered several devices at Qian’s address, including a laptop containing a cryptocurrency wallet containing millions of pounds worth of Bitcoin.
He was arrested at the address in York in April 2024 and taken to a local police station.
Qian was later charged with money laundering.
The court heard Ling, a Malaysian national who lives in Derbyshire, provided assistance to Qian, including arranging rental properties for her to live in.
Richard Thomas KC, mitigating the sentence on Qian’s behalf, said his client had “no previous criminal record” and had an “exemplary record” while in custody.
Narita Bahra KC, representing Ling, said his client did not know the “full extent” of Qian’s guilt and described her as a “boss lady”.
He said: “This was a subservient role for Mr. Ling.
“The first defendant [Qian] ‘boss lady’ was described as ‘boss’ and all the evidence points to this as the position from which Mr Ling acted upon the instructions of the first defendant.”
He said Ling, who had previous convictions for fraud, did not have “any wealth beyond employment payments.”
Wen was convicted of money laundering following a trial at Southwark Crown Court.
He was later sentenced to six years and eight months in prison.
