The arrest of a woman linked to a substantial £5.5 billion Bitcoin fraud took place while she was in bed.
Zhimin Qian, aged 47, was identified as the brains behind a scheme that cheated around 128,000 individuals from 2014 to 2017. Qian relocated to the UK after discovering that Chinese authorities were looking into her activities and had hidden the illicit proceeds in Bitcoin assets.
Also known as Yadi Zhang, Qian enlisted partners to help her establish a new life in the UK, where she indulged in luxury experiences, such as staying in high-end hotels and purchasing expensive jewelry and watches totaling £120,000. She even rented a lavish mansion in North London for £17,333 per month.
Despite her attempts to evade capture by traveling and spending extravagantly, Qian’s run came to an end in April of the previous year when one of her associates was apprehended, leading to her own arrest while she was in bed, as captured on police footage.
Previously, in 2018, Qian had been arrested in a similar circumstance. Following her guilty plea to money laundering charges, she was sentenced to 11 years in prison by Southwark Crown Court for defrauding investors in her fraudulent business, Lantian Gerui, also known as Blue Sky, in 2014.
During her time in the UK, Qian engaged in extensive travel across Europe, often accompanied by an associate, spending lavishly on accommodations and sightseeing while converting Bitcoin to cash, purchasing jewelry, and exploring real estate investment opportunities in Europe.
Qian strategically avoided jurisdictions with extradition agreements with China and opted for land travel to bypass customs checks. Her attempt to buy a £12.5 million property in London raised suspicions, leading UK authorities to investigate her Bitcoin transactions.
Upon her arrest, authorities seized laptops containing millions of pounds worth of Bitcoin, uncovering documents detailing her ambitions and plans.
According to Gillian Jones KC, the prosecutor, these plans included Qian’s aspiration to become the ruler of Liberland, a self-proclaimed nation situated between Croatia and Serbia.
Despite a six-year evasion of law enforcement, Qian’s Bitcoin holdings were ultimately valued at an impressive £5.5 billion.
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