"During the course of a multiyear investigation, British authorities seized over 61,000 bitcoin-worth more than $6 billion today-marking one of the largest cryptocurrency seizures ever recorded in Europe. The court heard that Qian fled China in 2017, traveling through Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Malaysia, before arriving in the UK on a St Kitts and Nevis passport. She attempted to convert the bitcoin into cash, often using accomplices to purchase luxury goods, including jewelry and watches, while staying in high-end hotels across Europe."
"She was eventually arrested in York, northern England, in April 2024 following a police investigation into her accomplice Ling Seng Hok, who had been transferring bitcoin linked to the scheme. Qian's accomplices were also sentenced. Wen Jian, who helped convert the bitcoin into cash and luxury goods, was jailed last year, while Ling received nearly five years in prison after pleading guilty to money laundering."
Zhimin Qian ran the Lantian Gerui investment company from 2014 to 2017 and defrauded around 128,000 investors in China of roughly 40 billion renminbi ($5.62 billion). Prosecutors said about 6 billion renminbi ($845 million) was siphoned off and converted into bitcoin. British authorities seized over 61,000 bitcoin, worth more than $6 billion today, during a multiyear investigation. Qian fled China in 2017, traveling through several countries before arriving in the UK on a St Kitts and Nevis passport. She used accomplices to convert bitcoin into cash and luxury goods while evading capture until her arrest in York in April 2024. Accomplices received jail terms and prosecutors described the case as one of the largest money-laundering cases in UK history by value and the largest confirmed seizure of criminal assets in Europe.
Read at Bitcoin Magazine
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]