Zhimin Qian, 47, was sentenced to 11 years behind bars after she scammed some 128,000 people out of an estimated £5.5billion in an elaborate cryptocurrency scam
Police arrest Chinese woman involved in largest UK cryptocurrency seizure
This is the moment a cryptoqueen behind a massive £5.5 billion Bitcoin scam was arrested in bed.
Zhimin Qian, 47, was the mastermind behind a scam that defrauded some 128,000 people between 2014 and 2017. She ended up stashing the money in Bitcoin assets before fleeing for the UK when she realised authorities in China were investigating her.
Qian, who is also known as Yadi Zhang, went on to recruit accomplices to assist her to “set up a new life” in the UK. After setting up a life for herself in the UK, Qian went on sightseeing visits around Europe and booked herself into swanky hotels in a bid to evade arrest.
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She also spent a mini-fortune on jewellery and bought two watches for an estimated £120,000 while going on to rent a £17,333-a-month mansion in North London.
But she was finally apprehended in April last year when one of her accomplices was arrested. Footage shared by police showed the moment Qian was arrested while she was resting in bed.
She was previously arrested in bed after police quizzed her back in 2018. Qian was jailed for 11 years after she pleaded guilty to money laundering offences.
Southwark Crown Court heard Qian had defrauded 128,000 victims who invested money into her scam business, Lantian Gerui, which translates to Blue Sky, back in 2014.
Gillian Jones KC, prosecuting, 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.”
Quin dodged countries that had extradition treaties with China and moved by car in order to avoid customs. She attempted to buy a £12.5 home in London but UK authorities were alerted following suspicions over her Bitcoin.
Officers seized laptops that had millions of pounds worth of Bitcoin, though they did not know about her real wealth. They also found documents that included her “aspirations and intentions.”
Ms Jones KC added: “(This) included her intention to become the monarch of Liberland, a self-proclaimed country consisting of a strip of land between Croatia and Serbia.”
But she managed to escape police for six years following the raid. Her Bitcoin was ultimately valued at being worth £5.5 billion.