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A leader of a criminal gang and her accomplice were jailed on Tuesday for playing key roles in laundering money from a high value investment fraud committed in China.

Zhimin Qian (aka Yadi Zhang), 47, a Chinese national, was sentenced to 11 years and eight months imprisonment after pleading guilty at Southwark Crown Court to two offences of possessing illegally obtained cryptocurrency and money laundering the bitcoin, a statement from the Crown Prosecution Service said on 11 November. 

The seizure of more than 60,000 bitcoin is the largest ever in the UK, the CPS said.

Prosecutors had told the court previously that the sheer scale of the seized bitcoin, the lack of any legitimate evidence for how it was acquired and its connection to a massive investment fraud in China, all indicated that it was criminal property.

Between 2014 and 2017, Qian was responsible for an investment fraud in China involving more than 128,000 victims, some of whom invested their life savings and pensions. The fraud led to losses of about £600 million ($787.6 million). She then went on to convert around £20.2 million of the illegally obtained money into bitcoin.

Qian then fled China and came to the UK where she met Jian Wen (convicted and imprisoned for money laundering separately) and began to try to purchase high worth property and jewellery. They made efforts to purchase properties in London, valued at £4.5 million, £23.5 million, and £12.5 million, but were hampered by difficulties transferring sufficient bitcoin into cash and by “know your customer” questions asked under anti-money laundering regulations.

Qian fled and looked for someone else to help in translating for her and laundering/transferring the cryptocurrency. She sought the help of Seng Hok Ling, a Malaysian national who transferred about £2.5 million on her behalf.

Senghok Ling, 47, was sentenced to four years and 11 months imprisonment after pleading guilty to one count of a money laundering-related offence at the same court.

A Metropolitan Police surveillance of Ling, led to the discovery of Qian in York.

Both were arrested in April 2024, where seized assets included encrypted devices, cash, gold, and further cryptocurrency.

Will Lyne, head of Economic and Cybercrime Command at the Metropolitan Police, said: “This outcome brings to a close one of the largest and most complex economic crime investigations ever undertaken by the Met. This is currently the largest cryptocurrency seizure by law enforcement in the UK and is the largest money laundering case in UK history by value.” 

“The sentence marks the culmination of seven years of dedicated investigation by specialist teams from across the Met Police, working closely with our partners from the Crown Prosecution Service and National Crime Agency.

“The success of this investigation has also hinged on unprecedented cooperation with Chinese law enforcement, and this case underscores the vital role of cross-border law enforcement partnerships,” he said. 

"This is money laundering on an industrial scale – more than £5 billion concealed in cryptocurrency, the largest asset seizure in UK history. It shows how illicit wealth has shifted from cash, gold and property into volatile digital assets – fortunes that can swing billions in value overnight and be carried across borders on something as small as a thumb drive,” Amjid Jabbar, partner at Stokoe Partnership Solicitors, said in an emailed comment sent to WealthBriefing. 

"Ironically, the much-maligned Covid delays may now work in the Treasury’s favour. When the bitcoin was first seized it was worth £1.4 billion – today it has ballooned to over £5 billion. If the UK Government succeeds in the High Court against the rival claims of alleged victims and the Chinese state, the pandemic-induced pause could end up delivering a windfall that no policymaker foresaw,” Jabbar added.