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A Chinese woman who orchestrated a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme and laundered much of the proceeds into cryptocurrency was jailed in the United Kingdom on Tuesday for 11 years and eight months, according to Reuters reporting.
Zhimin Qian, 47, nicknamed the “goddess of wealth,” admitted to two charges of acquiring and possessing criminal property.
Qian ran the Lantian Gerui investment company between 2014 and 2017, defrauding around 128,000 investors in China of roughly 40 billion renminbi ($5.62 billion). Prosecutors said about 6 billion renminbi ($845 million) was siphoned off and converted into bitcoin.
During the course of a multiyear investigation, British authorities seized over 61,000 bitcoin—worth more than $6 billion today—marking one of the largest cryptocurrency seizures ever recorded in Europe.
Bitcoin fraud details
The court heard that Qian fled China in 2017, traveling through Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Malaysia, before arriving in the UK on a St Kitts and Nevis passport.
She attempted to convert the bitcoin into cash, often using accomplices to purchase luxury goods, including jewelry and watches, while staying in high-end hotels across Europe. British authorities first encountered Qian in 2018 during a property purchase in London, but she evaded capture for six years.
She was eventually arrested in York, northern England, in April 2024 following a police investigation into her accomplice Ling Seng Hok, who had been transferring bitcoin linked to the scheme.
Qian’s accomplices were also sentenced. Wen Jian, who helped convert the bitcoin into cash and luxury goods, was jailed last year, while Ling received nearly five years in prison after pleading guilty to money laundering.
Prosecutors said the case ranks as one of the largest money-laundering cases in UK history by value and involves the largest confirmed seizure of criminal assets in Europe.
At sentencing, Judge Sally-Ann Hales described Qian as the “architect” of the scheme, driven by “pure greed.” Prosecutors highlighted that some victims lost their life savings, homes, and even marriages.
While criminal proceedings are complete, a civil recovery process in London’s High Court is ongoing, exploring compensation for more than 1,300 victims who have come forward.
Qian’s lawyers argued that she never intended to defraud anyone and that bitcoin’s massive appreciation—rising from around $3,600 in 2018 to roughly $100,000 today—could allow restitution to exceed the original losses. A spokesperson for London police confirmed that British and Chinese authorities are cooperating on cross-border fugitive and asset recovery.
