The largest Bitcoin money laundering case in the UK involving a large number of Chinese investors has made new progress.
The defendant, Qian Zhimin (previously known as Zhang Yadi and Huahua), pleaded not guilty to all money laundering charges during her trial at Southwark Crown Court in London on October 21, 2024. The trial of this case is scheduled to begin on September 29, 2025, at 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.” Another co-defendant named “Senghok Ling” also pleaded not guilty to the charge of participating in money laundering, despite knowing that it was criminal property.
The reason why the trial process of this case has attracted so much attention is that Qian Zhimin was the mastermind behind the illegal fundraising case of Tianjin Blue Sky Grid Technology Co., Ltd. seven years ago. She and her criminal gang were accused of converting these funds into Bitcoin assets and fleeing to the UK to spend them. The 128,000 Chinese investors involved in the case have been actively seeking compensation, but they have always faced multiple challenges such as cross-border debt recovery, virtual currency ownership, and value conversion.
According to information provided to Interface News, representatives of the investors also attended the trial and entrusted a cross-border asset dispute law firm to observe the proceedings. The appointed lawyers have 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 on October 22 specifically informing Chinese victims that the agency has initiated civil compensation procedures for the assets frozen by Qian Zhimin and others in the UK earlier this year. After the progress stipulated in Article 281 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, contact between the countries will be made.
The Crown Prosecution Service filed a civil compensation procedure with the High Court earlier this year. If there are no other individuals or entities claiming rights to the criminal assets, half will be given to the British police and the other half will be allocated to the UK Home Office. The purpose is to facilitate the disposal of criminal proceeds and prevent further crimes.
According to previous reports by Interface News, in 2017, seven Chinese ministries and commissions jointly called for a halt to various token issuance and financing activities. At that time, a total of 8,600 cases of illegal fundraising were investigated and prosecuted nationwide, with 50 cases involving amounts over 100 million yuan. Among them, Tianjin Blue Sky Grid Technology Co., Ltd. illegally absorbed public deposits totaling 43 billion yuan.
After the case was exposed, Qian Zhimin fled abroad with a forged passport from a Commonwealth country, carrying a laptop with an encrypted wallet. The wallet contained Bitcoin that had been transferred out in advance through her subordinate’s Huobi account.
After arriving in the UK, she recruited a Chinese woman named Jian Wen to assist her in conducting inspections in various European countries such as Switzerland, Italy, and Greece, with the purpose of using the illegal proceeds for major expenses such as real estate, cars, and jewelry.
At the same time, the UK Financial Conduct Authority began cracking down on criminal activities involving money laundering through cryptocurrencies. In 2018, Qian Zhimin and Jian Wen attempted to directly purchase a mansion worth £23.5 million with Bitcoin, which attracted police attention due to the unclear source of funds.
Subsequently, Jian Wen was arrested by the police, but Qian Zhimin fled in advance. It is reported that during her evasion, she planned to invest in an unrecognized Eastern European micro “country” called Liberland, aiming to be elected as a “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 investments.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the London police repeatedly searched the two individuals and their residences and ultimately froze 61,000 Bitcoins, the largest amount ever frozen 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 further orders are issued by the High Court.
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 establishes the criminal confiscation system for criminal proceeds and the civil recovery system for illegal gains. On March 18, 2024, the jury at Southwark Crown Court found Jian Wen guilty of money laundering, and she was subsequently sentenced to 6 years and 8 months in prison. The proceedings for the confiscation of her assets have been postponed until January 2025.
Qian Zhimin returned to the UK in April this year and appeared in Westminster Magistrates’ Court on May 22 under the name Zhang Yadi, together with Senghok Ling. Currently, there is no further public information about the identity and details of the latter.
(Journalist Lü Yaxuan also contributed to this article)
