LONDON: A Chinese fraudster involved in a bitcoin scam worth more than £5.5bil (RM30bil) spent years evading British authorities sightseeing across Europe and staying in luxury hotels, a court heard.
Zhimin Qian, 47, masterminded a Ponzi scheme which defrauded more than 128,000 victims in China between 2014 and 2017 and stored the illegally obtained funds in bitcoin assets.
Qian, also known as Yadi Zhang, fled to the UK as a “fugitive” in 2017 after coming to the attention of Chinese authorities and upon arriving, recruited accomplices to help her “set up a new life”.
A sentencing hearing at Southwark Crown Court in London on Monday heard Qian travelled extensively in the months and years that followed, staying in upmarket hotels across the continent and buying expensive jewellery – on one occasion purchasing two watches for nearly £120,000 (RM655,624).
The businesswoman attracted the attention of British authorities in 2018 and was subsequently arrested in April last year after spending nearly six years “at large” in what has been described as the UK’s largest cryptocurrency seizure.
After pleading guilty to money laundering offences, Qian and her accomplice Seng Hok Ling, 47, are to be sentenced on Tuesday for the roles they played in the multibillion-pound fraudulent bitcoin scheme.
The value of the Bitcoin was priced at more than £5.5bil when Qian and Ling were convicted of the money laundering offences in September.
It is understood that the figure is constantly changing.
Gillian Jones King’s Counsel (KC), prosecuting, told the sentencing hearing that Qian set up fraudulent business, Lantian Gerui, which translates to Blue Sky in English, in March 2014.
More than 128,000 victims invested in the company, many of whom went on to lose “substantial sums of money.”
Qian’s fraudulent activities eventually came to the attention of Chinese authorities, prompting her to flee the country before eventually arriving in the UK in September 2017.
She recruited an accomplice, Jian Wen, to help her “set up a new life.”
The court heard Wen was “handsomely rewarded” for her services, transforming her “life and prospects” overnight.
In September, Qian started renting a “lavish” property in Hampstead, London, having told an estate agent a “lie” that she ran a successful jewellery business.
The monthly rent for this property was £17,333 (RM94,699), the court heard.
In October 2017, Wen travelled to Thailand on Qian’s request to collect a laptop on which bitcoin was stored.
Jones said: “Over the months and years following her arrival in the UK, Ms Qian travelled extensively throughout Europe often accompanied by Ms Wen, staying in expensive hotels and sightseeing.
“During these trips bitcoin was transferred and sold in exchange for cash, fine jewellery bought and property in Europe considered for purchase.”
The court heard Qian was careful to avoid countries that had extradition treaties with China, and travelled predominantly by car to avoid custom checks.
It was heard that in one trip, the pair spent £119,200 (RM651,253) purchasing two watches at a jewellery shop in Zurich, Switzerland.
In 2018, Qian attempted to purchase a £12.5mil (RM68.3mil) property in London and after suspicions were raised over her bitcoin, UK authorities were notified.
Jones said this acted as a “catalyst for subsequent investigation.”
UK police emailed Wen, who was attempting to secure the property on Qian’s behalf, to tell her that they had concerns about the source of the money.
The court heard that Qian was aware that UK police were questioning the source of her bitcoin.
In October 2018, Metropolitan Police officers visited her Hampstead home to execute a search warrant.
Qian was discovered in bed by officers and she told them she was ill with a sore leg and brain injury.
She provided a fake name, Yadi Zhang, and the court heard that at this stage, the police had no idea who Qian was.
They discovered laptops in her property with millions of pounds’ worth of bitcoin contained on them.
Neither Qian or Wen were arrested at this stage as the police were unaware of the extent of what they had uncovered.
In a later discovery, officers found documents recording Qian’s “aspirations and intentions.”
Referring to one document, Jones said: “(This) included her intention to become the monarch of Liberland, a self-proclaimed country consisting of a strip of land between Croatia and Serbia.”
After the police raid in October 2018, Qian fled the country.
The court heard that for nearly six years, she managed to “evade arrest” and was ultimately “at large.”
Wen was arrested in May 2021 at the Hampstead address in London and was subsequently charged with money laundering.
While her trial was ongoing, a transfer of bitcoin was made which led the police to identify Seng Hok Ling at an address in York.
Police visited the address in April 2024 and discovered Qian and four other individuals.
It was heard they were all living at the address and were working for Qian, carrying out roles like cooking, shopping, and cleaning, while she remained “hidden away” from the authorities.
Authorities discovered several devices at Qian’s address, including a laptop containing a cryptocurrency wallet with £27.3mil (RM149.15mil) worth of bitcoin.
Qian was arrested at the address in York in April 2024 and taken to a local police station.
She mostly remained silent but in the few questions she did answer, Qian maintained her innocence.
The court heard Ling, a Malaysian national, had arranged the rental of properties for Qian to live in, including an Airbnb in Scotland.
Richard Thomas KC, mitigating on behalf of Qian, said his client has “no previous convictions” and has maintained an “exemplary record” while in custody.
He told the sentencing hearing that Qian has “worked hard” to learn English in custody and has even had her poetry published.
Narita Bahra KC, representing Ling, said her client did not know the “full extent” of Qian’s criminality.
Qian, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to acquiring criminal property and possessing criminal property.
Ling, from Derbyshire, pleaded guilty to transferring criminal property.
Wen was convicted of one charge of money laundering after a trial at Southwark Crown Court. She was later sentenced to six years’ and eight months’ imprisonment.
The sentencing hearing for Qian and Ling continues and is due to conclude on Tuesday. – dpa