How Chinese fraudster involved in £5.5 billion Bitcoin scam evaded UK authorities for six years
Bitcoin fraudster’s lavish lifestyle before £5.5b Ponzi scheme came crashing down
- Zhimin Qian, a Chinese fraudster, orchestrated a £5.5 billion Bitcoin Ponzi scheme that defrauded over 128,000 victims in China between 2014 and 2017.
- After fleeing China in 2017, Qian lived lavishly in the UK and travelled extensively across Europe, using her illicit gains to purchase luxury items and attempt property acquisitions.
- She evaded British authorities for nearly six years, despite an initial police raid in 2018, and was eventually arrested in April 2024 in York.
- Qian's arrest led to the UK's largest cryptocurrency seizure, with the value of the Bitcoin exceeding £5.5 billion at the time of conviction.
- Qian has pleaded guilty to acquiring and possessing criminal property, and her accomplice Seng Hok Ling pleaded guilty to transferring criminal property, with their sentencing hearing ongoing.