The case of laundering 60,000 Bitcoins has come to an end – Qian Zhimin was sentenced to 11 years and 8 months in prison.

A laptop containing the keys to 60,000 Bitcoin wallets, a Chinese woman posing as an "antique heiress," and her nearly seven years of extravagant life on the run finally came to an end at Southwark Crown Court in London. Qian Zhimin (also known as Zhang Yadi), 47, was recently sentenced to 11 years and 8 months in prison by Southwark Crown Court in London for orchestrating the largest cryptocurrency money laundering case in British history. In her sentencing statement, presiding judge Sally-Ann Hales stated sternly: "The scale of your money laundering is unprecedented, and your motive is pure greed. When you left China, you showed no mercy to the investors you had deceived and who had lost their savings, while living a life of extravagance overseas." The origins of the fraud: Qian Zhimin's wealth empire began in Tianjin, China in 2014. She and several accomplices co-founded Lantian Gree Company, using the guise of a "blockchain and electronic technology project" to lure investors with promises of high returns, thus launching a Ponzi scheme. The company promised investors annual returns of 100% to 300% under names such as "computing power investment" and "Bitcoin mining machine investment." To gain trust, Qian Zhimin meticulously crafted the illusion of the project's legitimacy. Her company had a physical showroom filled with running Bitcoin mining machines, and a screen in the background constantly displaying fabricated profit data. The Scam Collapsed in 2017. Lantian Gree, promising high returns, began defaulting on interest payments to some investors. As complaints increased, local Chinese regulators and police launched a formal investigation. On April 21 of the same year, the Hedong Branch of the Tianjin Public Security Bureau opened an investigation into Tianjin Lantian Gree for suspected illegal fundraising. From 2014 to 2017, approximately 128,000 investors were involved, investing their life savings, retirement funds, and in some cases, even their entire families' fortunes. On the eve of her exposure, Qian Zhimin had already prepared her escape route. To conceal the flow of funds, in 2014, she opened an account on the cryptocurrency exchange Huobi under the name of an accomplice, converting investor funds into Bitcoin. In 2017, using a forged St. Kitts and Nevis passport and the alias "Zhang Yadi," Qian Zhimin entered the UK from Malaysia, beginning her nearly seven-year life on the run. After arriving in the UK, Qian Zhimin recruited a Chinese woman named Wen Jian in London to assist her in making large-scale purchases of real estate, cars, jewelry, and other items with her illicit gains throughout Europe. During her time in the UK, Qian Zhimin led a lavish and extravagant lifestyle. She rented a mansion in Hampstead, a wealthy area in North London, paying over $20,000 per month in rent alone, and employed a butler, driver, and servants. At the sentencing hearing, prosecutors revealed that Qian Zhimin had purchased £44,000 worth of diamond jewelry in Zurich, spent £90,000 on clothes at Harrods, and purchased over £110,000 worth of watches at the luxury boutique Van Cleef & Arpels. She once spent £120,000 to buy two luxury watches in a single transaction and also planned to purchase property in Dubai and a multi-million dollar villa in Italy. However, Qian Zhimin's life on the run first cracked in 2018. At that time, she and her assistant attempted to directly purchase a £23.5 million Hampstead mansion with Bitcoin, which included a swimming pool, gym, and beauty salon. However, the transaction failed due to the unclear origin of the funds, and instead attracted the attention of the police. British police raided her residence years ago, seizing Qian Zhimin's laptop and other digital devices, and freezing over 60,000 bitcoins. However, police did not immediately arrest Qian Zhimin, who then went into hiding for nearly six years. After a six-year investigation, police finally located Qian Zhimin's hideout in York. On April 22, 2024, British police arrested Qian Zhimin in bed at a residence in Yorkshire.

Final Sentence

On September 29, 2025, Qian Zhimin pleaded guilty in court at Southwark Crown Court in London to two charges: possession of criminal property and transfer of criminal property.

Previously, Qian Zhimin had maintained a "not guilty" plea throughout the nearly one-and-a-half-year legal process, only changing his plea to guilty on the first day of the trial on September 29, 2025. The court ultimately ruled that the two charges would be served concurrently, with a total sentence of 11 years and 8 months imprisonment. Judge Sally-Ann Hales stated, "If you hadn't pleaded guilty, your sentence would have been thirteen years. Because you pleaded guilty and surrendered yourself, the court has reduced your sentence to eleven years and eight months in prison." Prior to this case, Qian Zhimin's assistant, a Chinese woman named Wen Jian, had already been sentenced to six years and eight months in prison for involvement in money laundering. Her male housekeeper, Seng Hok Ling, was also sentenced to four years and eleven months in prison for assisting in transferring illicit funds. Asset Ownership Following the verdict, the ownership of over 60,000 bitcoins became the focus. According to the law firm representing the victims, thousands of Chinese investors plan to file claims in this case. The final destination of this wealth will be determined by a civil "proceeds of crime" case, which is expected to officially commence early next year. The UK Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has revealed that they are considering establishing a compensation mechanism for investors who are not represented in civil cases. However, under the UK's Proceeds of Crime Act, the UK may retain the confiscated Bitcoin rather than directly redistributing it. Typically, confiscated assets are channeled into the national treasury or law enforcement budgets through asset recovery reward schemes. Will Lyne, head of the Economic and Cybercrime Command at the Metropolitan Police Department in London, stated: “Organized crime groups are using cryptocurrency to transfer, hide, and invest the proceeds of serious crimes – but every cryptocurrency transaction leaves a trace.” Although a criminal verdict has been reached in this case, the final ownership of the 61,000 bitcoins remains unresolved. For the 128,000 Chinese victims, this long-term rights protection effort, spanning eight years, has only just entered its next phase.