A Chinese national has been convicted of playing a key role in what is believed to be the single largest cryptocurrency seizure in the world, worth more than £5bn ($6.7bn).
Zhimin Qian, also known as Yadi Zhang, pleaded guilty on Monday at Southwark Crown Court, London of illegally acquiring and possessing the cryptocurrency.
Between 2014 and 2017, she led a large-scale scam in China by cheating more than 128,000 victims and storing the stolen funds in bitcoin assets, according to the Metropolitan Police.
The 47-year-old's guilty plea followed a seven-year probe into a global money laundering web.
A total of 61,000 bitcoins were seized from Qian, the Met said.
Police began their investigation in 2018 after receiving a tip-off about the transfer of criminal assets. Qian had been evading justice for five years up to her arrest, which required a complex investigation involving multiple jurisdictions, said Detective Sergeant Isabella Grotto, who led the Met's investigation.
She fled China using false documents and entered the UK, where she attempted to launder the stolen money by buying property.
Qian's solicitor, Roger Sahota, remarked that the guilty plea aims to bring comfort to the victims who have awaited compensation since 2017.
Qian benefited from the scam alongside Jian Wen, a takeaway worker sentenced to over six years last year for her part in the operation, which involved significant money laundering efforts. Wen laundered proceeds by acquiring properties and rapidly upgraded her lifestyle.
Victims often included elderly individuals who invested substantial sums based on promises of lucrative returns in the cryptocurrency market. The case emphasizes the vulnerability of investors to fraud and highlights the ongoing challenges law enforcement faces the growing trend of cryptocurrency-related crimes.
Qian's sentencing is pending, with the investigation still ongoing as authorities work to ensure that the stolen funds do not return to the fraudsters.
