Overview
- Southwark Crown Court sentenced Zhimin Qian, 47, to 11 years and eight months for possessing and transferring criminal property after she pleaded guilty in September.
- British investigators recovered over 61,000 bitcoin in the case, described by authorities as the largest confirmed crypto seizure in the UK and Europe, with a value reported around £5–5.5 billion depending on market price.
- Prosecutors said Qian ran the Lantian Gerui Ponzi-style scheme in China from 2014 to 2017 that drew roughly 40 billion yuan from about 128,000 investors.
- Qian fled China in 2017 on false documents and was arrested in York in April 2024 after years evading capture, with police tracing wallet activity and seizing devices holding crypto assets.
- Accomplice Seng Hok Ling received four years and 11 months, Jian Wen was jailed for six years and eight months in 2024, and CPS-led High Court proceedings are ongoing to determine restitution for victims.