Bitcoin News Update: Major Crypto Money Laundering Case Highlights Worldwide Battle Against Digital Financial Crimes

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Bitcoin News Update: Major Crypto Money Laundering Case Highlights Worldwide Battle Against Digital Financial Crimes

Bitget-RWA2025/11/16 12:44

By:Bitget-RWA

- Qian Zhimin, 47, was sentenced to 11 years for orchestrating a $5.6B crypto Ponzi scheme affecting 128,000 Chinese victims. - UK authorities seized 61,000 BTC ($6B) during the case, the largest cryptocurrency seizure in UK history. - Qian fled China in 2017, lived lavishly in the UK for seven years using forged documents before her 2021 arrest. - The case highlights cross-border crypto crime challenges, with global authorities recovering assets linked to Chinese cyberattacks. - Prosecutors face hurdles i

The orchestrator behind one of the most significant cryptocurrency laundering operations ever recorded was

handed a prison term of 11 years and eight months

by a London court on Tuesday, representing a milestone in the international crackdown on financial crimes involving digital currencies. Qian Zhimin, a 47-year-old Chinese citizen also known as Yadi Zhang, was

found guilty of cleaning illicit funds

originating from a Ponzi scheme that swindled 128,000 people in China from 2014 to 2017. During their investigation, UK officials

confiscated 61,000 bitcoin—valued at over $6 billion

at the time—marking the largest crypto asset seizure in the nation’s history.

Bitcoin News Update: Major Crypto Money Laundering Case Highlights Worldwide Battle Against Digital Financial Crimes image 0

Qian’s operation, conducted through her firm Lantian Gerui,

diverted around 40 billion yuan

from unsuspecting investors, with more than 6 billion yuan being transferred into

Bitcoin

. After escaping China in 2017 via Southeast Asia, Qian

established herself in the UK using a counterfeit

St. Kitts and Nevis passport. She managed to avoid detection for nearly seven years, enjoying an extravagant lifestyle,

acquiring high-end real estate and expensive jewelry

, and even attempting to purchase a villa in Tuscany. Her illegal activities were exposed in 2018 when a failed bid to buy a £12.5 million property in London prompted a police probe. By 2021, the Metropolitan Police had

gained control over her crypto assets

, discovering a cache of 70,000

BTC

valued at £305 million at that time.

Judge Sally-Ann Hales

referred to Qian as the "mastermind" behind the scam

, stressing that her actions were driven by "unbridled greed." The court further

noted her extravagant aspirations

, such as her intention to govern the micronation of Liberland, a plan uncovered in her diary during the investigation. Qian’s associate, Senghok Ling, a 47-year-old Malaysian, was

given a separate sentence of four years

and 11 months for his role in laundering the illicit proceeds.

The case has drawn global scrutiny, with U.S. officials also

confiscating 127,000 BTC—worth $13 billion

in connection to a 2020 cyberattack originating from China. Meanwhile, the Bitcoin market, already unstable in 2025, has

experienced a drop of 15-20%

, indicating increased caution among investors. Prosecutors are currently

evaluating compensation strategies

for the Chinese victims, though fully recovering the $5.62 billion remains a formidable task.

The sentencing highlights the increasing complexity of international financial crimes involving digital currencies. Will Lyne, who leads the Metropolitan Police’s Economic and Cybercrime Command,

described the probe as "one of the most extensive and challenging"

the department has ever faced. As cryptocurrencies continue to

obscure

legal boundaries between countries, cases such as Qian’s

underscore the importance of international collaboration

in fighting financial wrongdoing.

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