Chinese national Zhimin Qian pleaded guilty to acquiring and possessing criminal property of 61,000 Bitcoin, now valued just shy of $7 billion, in a UK court on Monday.
The conviction follows a seven-year investigation into international money laundering where it was discovered that Qian, who also goes by Yadi Zhang, organized a large-scale fraudulent investment scheme that defrauded 128,000 individuals.
“Today’s guilty plea marks the culmination of years of dedicated investigation by the Met’s Economic Crime teams and our partners,” Will Lyne, The Met’s head of economic and cybercrime command, said in a statement.
“This is one of the largest money laundering cases in UK history and among the highest-value cryptocurrency cases globally,” he added “I am extremely proud of the team.”
Qian conducted the scheme between 2014-2017, defrauding individuals and ultimately turning the illegally obtained funds into Bitcoin. In 2018, she fled China and entered the UK with false documentation and later attempted to launder the money through property purchases and with the help of a conspirator, Jian Wen.
The Met was able to seize 61,000 Bitcoin between 2018 and 2021 in what it now calls the world’s largest crypto seizure. Wen was convicted of money laundering last year, and was ordered to pay more than $3 million for her role. She was sentenced to more than six years in prison.
Civil proceedings for the recovered funds are now ongoing, but a UK-based legal partner recently told Decrypt it will be a “considerable challenge” for Chinese investors to demonstrate legitimate proprietary claims to the funds.
“Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are increasingly being used by organized criminals to disguise and transfer assets, so that fraudsters may enjoy the benefits of their criminal conduct,” said Crown Prosecution Services Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor Robin Weyell, in a statement.
“The CPS is committed to working closely with law enforcement and investigatory authorities, to bring to justice individuals and companies who engage in laundering criminal proceeds of a cryptocurrency fraud,” she added.
Qian was remanded into custody and will be sentenced at a later date following her guilty plea.