Moment ‘Cryptoqueen’ scammer with £5bn Bitcoin stash arrested in bed | News

The “Crypto queen” fraudster who masterminded a scam that led to UK police seizing more than £5.5 billion in Bitcoin has been arrested in bed, according to police body camera videos.

Zhimin Qian, 47, of no fixed address, defrauded more than 128,000 victims through a pyramid scheme in China before fleeing to the UK 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’s accomplice Seng Hok Ling (47), of Morningside Walk, Matlock, Derbyshire, was jailed for four years and 11 months after pleading guilty to transferring criminal property for his role in the fraud.

Bitcoin was worth more than £5.5bn when Qian and Ling were convicted in September, according to police.

On Tuesday, November 11, Qian was sentenced to 11 years and eight months in prison after admitting money laundering offenses and transferring and possessing criminal property in the form of cryptocurrency.