A British court has sentenced Chinese national Qian Zhimin, known as the “Crypto Queen,” to 11 years and 8 months in prison for the largest money laundering case in the country’s history involving cryptocurrency. Law enforcement officials established that Qian organized a large-scale scheme to launder $6.4 billion, primarily using bitcoins obtained from deceived investors.
This is reported by Finway
Massive Fraud and Record Cryptocurrency Seizure
According to investigation materials, the funds that came under Qian Zhimin’s control belonged to thousands of Chinese retirees who invested in her company, Bluesky Greet. The firm, disguised as a tech startup, promised returns of up to 200% and claimed to be developing innovative devices and mining cryptocurrency. However, as investigators discovered, the company’s activities were a fraudulent scheme masked as a legitimate business.
After fleeing China in 2017, Qian moved to the prestigious Hampstead area of London, where she rented a luxurious mansion for £17,000 per month. In 2018, British police conducted one of the largest digital asset seizures in the world—over 61,000 bitcoins were found in the suspect’s cryptocurrency wallet.
Money Laundering and the Future of Seized Cryptocurrency
While in London, Qian Zhimin displayed a lifestyle of a wealthy collector, employing assistants to exchange crypto assets for cash and purchase real estate. Her accomplice, Wen Jian, is already serving a six-year sentence for involvement in these schemes.
Victimized investors from China have expressed their intention to seek compensation in British courts. However, as lawyers acknowledge, the possibility of recovering funds is complicated by the multi-layered network of intermediaries through which the finances passed.
“The cryptocurrency seized from Qian has increased in value more than twenty times since its arrival in the UK. A civil court case regarding the distribution of these assets will begin in 2026. If the funds remain unclaimed, they will benefit the British government.”
Analysts note that the case of Qian Zhimin has become emblematic of the scale of capital flight from Asian financial pyramids to countries with less stringent cryptocurrency regulations. Judge Gales emphasized that this case once again proves the vulnerability of victims of financial fraud even in the digital age.