Zhimin Qian, also known as Yadi Zhang, was convicted in the UK after authorities say it was a seizure of 61,000 bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, worth more than $6.7 billion at its current price.
Qian pleaded guilty on Monday to illegally obtaining and holding Bitcoin due to a scam that operated in China between 2014 and 2017.
The scheme reportedly scams more than 128,000 investors, including business professionals, bank employees and judicial members.
Authorities said Qian used false documents to flee China and moved to the UK where he attempted to wash his funds through the purchase of property. The seven-year investigation included collaboration between multiple jurisdictions and Chinese law enforcement agencies.
Will Lyne, head of Met’s Economic and Cybercrime Command, called the incident one of the biggest money laundering investigations in British history and one of the most valuable cryptocurrency cases around the world.
Other notable examples include tornado cash from crypto mixers since its inception in 2019 and was approved by US authorities in 2022 for washing more than $7 billion in crypto.
Qian remains in custody awaiting sentencing. Her accomplice Jian Wen was jailed last year for helping to transfer some of the stolen funds to real estate in the UK and Dubai. Authorities seized over £300 million in Bitcoin from him.
Why is this important?
This case shows how cryptocurrency can be used for large-scale fraud and money laundering. It also highlights the challenge of tracking digital assets across borders.
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People ask:
Bitcoin allows for quick and anonymous movement of borders through crypto exchanges, mixers and distributed networks, making it more difficult to track than traditional bank transfers.
Police and regulators use blockchain analytics tools to track wallet addresses, follow transaction history and cooperate internationally to collect stolen or laundered funds.
no. Bitcoin transactions are recorded on the public blockchain. The user’s name is hidden, but the wallet address can be tracked with advanced tools.
Crypto mixers pool funds from many users and rearrange them to obscure their origins. Criminals often use mixers to hide illegal Bitcoin.
Billions of dollars of crypto are washed each year, according to blockchain analytics firms, but this is still just a small part of global money laundering.