Overview

• The Metropolitan Police secured about 61,000 Bitcoin valued at roughly £5.5 billion, calling the case one of the largest money‑laundering investigations in UK history.
• Zhimin Qian, 47, pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court to acquiring and possessing criminal property, with sentencing yet to be set.
• Investigators say the cryptocurrency came from an investment fraud in China that defrauded more than 128,000 people between 2014 and 2017.
• Police say Qian fled China in 2018 using a false identity and sought to launder the proceeds through London property purchases, while an accomplice was previously sentenced to six years and eight months.
• Prosecutors report the Bitcoin is secured beyond the criminals’ reach, and reports indicate victims could be compensated even as the UK government is said to be considering keeping the assets.