The largest Bitcoin money laundering case in the UK, involving a large number of Chinese investors, has made new progress.
The defendant, Qian Zhimin (formerly known as Zhang Yadi and Huahua), pleaded not guilty to all money laundering charges when she appeared in the Southwark Crown Court in London on October 21, 2024. The trial of this case is scheduled to begin on September 29, 2025, in the Southwark Crown Court.
Qian Zhimin has been charged by the UK Crown Prosecution Service with two counts of illegal possession of cryptocurrency. Her lawyer stated, “Qian Zhimin denies all criminal charges and intends to actively defend this case.” Also present in court that day was another co-defendant named “Senghok Ling,” who also pleaded not guilty to a charge of participating in money laundering while knowing it was criminal property.
The trial process of this case has attracted attention because Qian Zhimin was the mastermind behind the illegal fundraising case of Tianjin Blue Sky Greer seven years ago. She and her criminal gang were accused of converting these funds into Bitcoin assets and escaping to the UK for consumption. The 128,000 Chinese investors involved in this case have been actively seeking compensation but have always faced multiple difficulties, such as cross-border debt recovery, virtual currency ownership, and value conversion.
According to investors who disclosed to Jiemian News, they also sent representatives to attend the trial and entrusted a cross-border asset dispute lawyer team to observe the trial. The appointed lawyer has already submitted a civil compensation application to the UK High Court on behalf of the creditors.
In this regard, the UK Crown Prosecution Service issued a notice specifically informing Chinese victims on October 22 that the agency has initiated civil compensation procedures for the assets frozen by Qian Zhimin and others earlier this year in the UK. After the progress specified in Article 281 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, contacts between countries will be made.
Earlier this year, the Crown Prosecution Service filed a civil compensation procedure with the High Court. If no other individuals or entities claim rights to the criminal assets, half will go to the UK police and the other half will go to the UK Home Office. The purpose is to facilitate the handling of criminal proceeds and prevent further crimes.
According to previous reports by Jiemian News, in 2017, seven Chinese ministries jointly banned various token issuance and financing activities. At that time, a total of 8,600 cases of illegal fundraising were investigated and dealt with nationwide, with 50 cases involving amounts over 100 million yuan. Among them, Tianjin Blue Sky Greer illegally absorbed public deposits totaling 43 billion yuan.
After the incident, Qian Zhimin fled abroad with a forged passport from the Commonwealth countries and carried a laptop with an encrypted wallet, which contained Bitcoin previously transferred out through subordinate Huobi accounts.
After arriving in the UK, she recruited a Chinese woman named Jian Wen in London to assist her in conducting investigations in various European countries such as Switzerland, Italy, and Greece, with the aim of using the illegal gains for large-scale consumption, such as real estate, cars, and jewelry.
At the same time, the UK Financial Conduct Authority began cracking down on money laundering activities through cryptocurrency. In 2018, Qian Zhimin and Jian Wen attempted to directly purchase a mansion worth 23.5 million pounds with Bitcoin, which eventually attracted police attention due to the unclear origin of the funds.
Subsequently, Jian Wen was arrested by the police, but Qian Zhimin fled in advance. It is reported that when evading arrest, she planned to invest in the unrecognized Eastern European micro “country” Liberland, intending to be elected as the “leader” and build the largest Buddhist temple and airport in Europe to obtain diplomatic immunity. Liberland claims to create a tax haven in Europe through cryptocurrency investment.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the London police repeatedly searched the two individuals and their residences and finally froze 61,000 Bitcoins, the largest ever in the country, based on the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. These assets will remain frozen until the aforementioned civil compensation procedure is completed or the High Court issues further orders.
Based on the latest price of $67,047 per Bitcoin on October 22, the total value of the frozen Bitcoins is currently $4.09 billion (approximately 29.1 billion yuan).
The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 in the UK stipulates the criminal confiscation system targeting criminal proceeds and the civil recovery targeting illegal gains. On March 18, 2024, the jury of the Southwark Crown Court found Jian Wen guilty of money laundering, and she was subsequently sentenced to 6 years and 8 months in prison. The asset confiscation procedure involved in her case has been postponed until January 2025.
Qian Zhimin surrendered in the UK in April this year and appeared in Westminster Magistrates’ Court on May 22 under the identity of Zhang Yadi, together with Senghok Ling. Currently, there is no further public information about the identity and details of the latter.
(Reporter Lyu Yaxuan also contributed to this article)
