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
A court has head how a Chinese fraudster involved in a Bitcoin scam worth more than £5.5 billion spent years evading British authorities while sightseeing across Europe and staying in luxury hotels.
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 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.
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.
Gillian Jones 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, the court heard.
In October 2017, Wen traveled to Thailand on Qian’s request to collect a laptop on which Bitcoin was stored.
Ms Jones KC 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 traveled predominantly by car to avoid custom checks. It was heard that in one trip, the pair spent £119,200 purchasing two watches at a jewellery shop in Zurich, Switzerland.
In 2018, Qian attempted to purchase a £12.5million property in London and after suspicions were raised over her Bitcoin, Ms Jones KC stated that this served as a “catalyst for subsequent investigation”.
UK police reached out to Wen, who was trying to secure the property on Qian’s behalf, expressing their concerns about the source of the funds. The court learned that Qian knew UK police were scrutinising the origin of her Bitcoin.
In October 2018, Metropolitan Police officers paid a visit to her Hampstead residence to carry out a search warrant. Qian was found in bed by officers, claiming she was suffering from a sore leg and brain injury.
She gave a false name, Yadi Zhang, and at this point, the police had no clue who Qian really was. They found laptops in her home containing millions of pounds’ worth of Bitcoin. Neither Qian nor Wen were arrested at this time, as the police did not yet grasp the full scope of what they had stumbled upon.
Later, officers discovered documents outlining Qian’s “aspirations and intentions”. Referring to one document, Ms. Jones KC 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 left the country. The court heard that she managed to “evade arrest” for nearly six years 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. Police visited the address in April 2024 and found Qian along with four other people.
The court heard they were all residing at the property and working for Qian, performing tasks such as cooking, shopping, and cleaning, while she stayed “hidden away” from authorities.
Officers discovered multiple devices at Qian’s residence, including a laptop containing a cryptocurrency wallet holding £27.3million worth of Bitcoin.
Qian was arrested at the York address in April 2024 and transported to a local police station. She largely stayed silent but in the limited questions she did respond to, Qian insisted she was innocent.
The court heard Ling, a Malaysian national, had organised the rental of properties for Qian to reside in, including an Airbnb in Scotland.
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 count of money laundering following a trial at Southwark Crown Court. She was subsequently sentenced to six years’ and eight months’ imprisonment.
The sentencing hearing for Qian and Ling continues and is expected to conclude on Tuesday.