Convictions After UK–China Fraud Probe Sees “World’s Largest” Crypto Seizure

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A Chinese national has pleaded guilty in London after an investigation that led to what the BBC says may be the world’s largest single cryptocurrency seizure: 61,000 bitcoin, now valued at more than £5bn ($6.7bn). 

According to a Metropolitan Police statement, Zhimin Qian, 47—also known as Yadi Zhang—admitted to acquiring and possessing criminal cryptocurrency at Southwark Crown Court under the Proceeds of Crime Act (2002).

Malaysian national Seng Hok Ling, 47, also appeared at the same court and pleaded guilty to transferring criminal cryptocurrency. Confiscation proceedings have begun to recover more than £16.2m ($21.9m) from Ling. Both defendants are due to be sentenced in a two-day hearing on November 10–11, according to the Met.

Police say Qian ran a large-scale investment scam in China between 2014 and 2017 that defrauded more than 128,000 victims before funds were converted into bitcoin and moved overseas. 

Qian used forged documents to flee China and attempted to launder proceeds in the UK via real estate. 

Detective Sergeant Isabella Grotto, who led the Metropolitan Police investigation, said:

When our team located Zhimin Qian, she had been evading justice for five years, and her arrest triggered a complex investigation requiring evidence from multiple jurisdictions and the careful review of thousands of documents. These pleas reflect years of hard work across both the UK and China.

The case follows reforms that expanded UK powers to seize, freeze, and recover cryptoassets. An earlier defendant in the case, former restaurant worker Jian Wen, was jailed in 2024 for laundering funds linked to the scheme and ordered in January to repay £3.1m ($4.2m).