A Chinese woman who was found with £5 billion (NZ$11.6 billion) in Bitcoin after defrauding more than 128,000 people in China in a Ponzi scheme was sentenced by a UK court on Wednesday to more than 11 years in prison.
Police said the investigation into Zhimin Qian, 47, led to officers recovering devices holding 61,000 Bitcoin in the largest cryptocurrency seizure in the UK.
Qian, dubbed "cryptoqueen" by British media, was arrested in April 2024 after spending years evading the authorities and living an "extravagant" lifestyle in Europe, staying in luxury hotels across the continent and buying fine jewellery and watches, prosecutors said.
Police said she ran a pyramid scheme that lured more than 128,000 people to invest in her business between 2014 and 2017, including many who invested their life savings and pensions. Authorities said she stored the illegally obtained funds in Bitcoin assets.
When she attracted the attention of Chinese authorities, Qian fled to the UK under a fake identity. Once in London, police said she rented a "lavish" house for over £17,000 (NZ$38,000) per month, and tried but failed to buy multimillion-pound properties in a bid to convert the Bitcoin.
Investigators found notes Qian had written documenting her aspirations — including her "intention to become the monarch of Liberland, a self-proclaimed country consisting of a strip of land between Croatia and Serbia".
They said other notes showed Qian detailing her hopes of "meeting a duke and royalty".
Judge Sally-Ann Hales said Qian was the architect of the crimes from start to finish.
"Your motive was one of pure greed. You left China without a thought for the people whose investments you had stolen and enjoyed for a period of time a lavish lifestyle. You lied and schemed, all the while seeking to benefit yourself," Hales said.
The businesswoman, who had pleaded guilty to money laundering offences and transferring and possessing criminal property, was sentenced to 11 years and eight months at Southwark Crown Court.
She was sentenced alongside her accomplice Seng Hok Ling, 47, a Malaysian national who was accused of helping Qian transfer and launder the cryptocurrency. Ling was jailed at the same court for four years and 11 months after he pleaded guilty to one count of transferring criminal property.
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