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UK Jails ‘Cryptoqueen’ Zhimin Qian to 11 Years Over £5 Billion Bitcoin Laundering

Civil recovery proceedings now focus on distributing more than 61,000 seized Bitcoins to fraud victims under UK law.

Overview

  • Southwark Crown Court sentenced Qian to 11 years and eight months after she pleaded guilty to possessing and transferring criminal property.
  • Metropolitan Police hold over 61,000 Bitcoin linked to the scheme, valued around £5 billion during the proceedings, in one of the UK’s largest crypto seizures.
  • Prosecutors said Qian’s Lantian Gerui operation in China ran from 2014 to 2017 and drew in more than 100,000 investors with Ponzi-style promises.
  • Investigators traced property-linked red flags to her Hampstead base, seized early wallets in 2018, and arrested her in York in April 2024 after tracking wallet activity.
  • Associates including Seng Hok Ling and Jian Wen have been convicted and sentenced, as victims pursue proprietary claims with the CPS delaying vesting to allow filings.