Appropriated 61,000 bitcoins. Unprecedented judgment for the Chinese “goddess of wealth”

The 47-year-old China citizen Zhimin Qian confessed to the London court to alleged illegal acquisition and possession of 61,000. Bitcoins with a current value of over 5 billion pounds – BBC said. During the four -year deal, the woman deceived over 128 thousand. people.

She was responsible for a large-scale fraud, lasting in the years 2014-17 in China. Zhimin, using false documents, ran from her homeland and got to Great Britain, where she tried to legalize money from a crime, buying real estate.

The investigation in this matter, conducted by the Metropolitan Police in London, lasted seven years. Zhimin arrested two years ago. In the Chinese media she was called the “goddess of wealth”.

– This is one of the largest matters regarding money laundering in the history of Great Britain and one of the largest cryptocurrencies in the world – said Will Lyne, head of the Economic and Cybernetic Department at the London police.

The woman was helped by an employee of the Chinese take -out bar Jian Wen, who in 2024 was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison for participating in a crime. The prosecutor's office informed that the 44-year-old “asked” the money obtained from fraud, moving from the apartment over the restaurant to a house rented for many million pounds in North London. She also bought two properties in Dubai, worth over 500,000 pounds. The British police reported that they also confiscated bitcoins worth over 300 million pounds.

Zhimin Qian is currently in custody until the verdict will be announced after the trial with the participation of other people associated with the case. The date of announcement of the penalty has not yet been set.

The British media informed that the government in London would want to stop the occupied funds. This is possible on the basis of a law that allows the authorities of Great Britain to occupy, freeze and recover assets from cryptocurrencies. According to Sky News, occupied assets can be allocated by the Minister of Treasury Rachel Reeves to patch a hole in public finances. So far, the Chinese side has not commented.

From London Marta Zabłocka (PAP)

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