Two people imprisoned for their key roles in a largescale money laundering case

A leader of a criminal gang and her accomplice have been jailed for playing key roles in laundering money from a high value investment fraud committed in China.

Zhimin Qian (aka Yadi Zhang), 47, Chinese national, was sentenced to 11 years and eight months imprisonment after pleading guilty to two offences of possessing illegally obtained cryptocurrency and money laundering the bitcoin at Southwark Crown Court.

A Metropolitan Police investigation and seizure of over 60,000 Bitcoin is the largest ever in the UK.

Prosecutors have told the court previously the sheer scale of the seized Bitcoin, the lack of any legitimate evidence for how it was acquired and its connection to a massive investment fraud in China, all indicated that it was criminal property.

Qian between 2014 and 2017 was responsible for a massive investment fraud in China involving over 128,000 victims, some of whom invested their life savings and pensions. The investment fraud led to losses of approximately £600 million. She then went on to convert around £20.2 million of the illegally obtained money into Bitcoin.

Qian then fled China and came to the UK where she met Jian Wen (convicted and imprisoned for money laundering separately) and began to try to purchase high worth property and jewellery.

They made efforts to purchase properties in London, valued at £4.5 million, £23.5 million, and £12.5 million, but were hampered by difficulties transferring sufficient Bitcoin into cash and by “know your customer” questions asked under anti-money laundering regulations.

Qian fled and looked for someone else to help in translating for her and laundering/transferring the cryptocurrency. She sought the help of Seng Hok Ling, a Malaysian national who transferred approximately £2.5 million on her behalf.

Senghok Ling, 47, was sentenced to four years and 11 months imprisonment after pleading guilty to one count of a money laundering related offence at the same court.

A Metropolitan Police surveillance of Ling, led to the discovery of Qian being in York.

Both were arrested in April 2024, where seized assets included encrypted devices, cash, gold, and further cryptocurrency was seized.

Neil Colville, Unit Head Prosecutor in  the Serious Economic Organised Crime and International Directorate of the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are increasingly being used by organised criminals to disguise and transfer assets, so that fraudsters may enjoy the benefits of their criminal conduct. This case, involving the largest cryptocurrency seizure in the UK, illustrates the scale of criminal proceeds available to those fraudsters.

“The imprisoning of Zhimin Qian (aka Yadi Zhang) and Senghok Ling marks the culmination of many years of complex and detailed work by both the Metropolitan Police and the Crown Prosecution Service. The fact that the defendants pleaded guilty are testament to the thoroughness of the investigation and prosecution.

“The CPS will now work to ensure, through criminal confiscation and civil proceedings, that the criminal assets remain beyond the fraudsters’ reach to firstly freeze and then look to seize the very large quantity of cryptocurrency and other assets, currently worth around £4.8 billion, used by Zhimin Qian to fund her extravagant lifestyle.

“The CPS is committed to working closely with law enforcement and investigatory authorities, to bring to justice individuals and companies who engage in laundering criminal proceeds of a cryptocurrency fraud.”

Attorney General Lord Hermer KC said: “Fraud is a destructive and devastating crime. It harms individuals and businesses, and impacts business confidence, undermining economic growth.

“Together Zhimin Qian and Senghok Ling caused misery upon thousands of victims to fund their lavish lifestyles. Thanks to the close partnership between the Met and the CPS, they have seized substantial amounts of cryptocurrency and secured the conviction and sentencing of these two prolific fraudsters – preventing more victims from coming to harm.”
 

Will Lyne, The Met’s Head of Economic and Cybercrime Command, said: “This outcome brings to a close one of the largest and most complex economic crime investigations ever undertaken by the Met.

“This is currently the largest cryptocurrency seizure by law enforcement in the UK and is the largest money laundering case in UK history by value.  

“The sentence marks the culmination of seven years of dedicated investigation by specialist teams from across the Met Police, working closely with our partners from the Crown Prosecution Service and National Crime Agency.

“The success of this investigation has also hinged on unprecedented cooperation with Chinese law enforcement, and this case underscores the vital role of cross-border law enforcement partnerships.

“Organised crime groups are using cryptocurrency to move, hide, and invest the profits of serious crime - but every crypto transaction leaves a trace, and the Met works meticulously with partners to follow that digital trail, identify assets and bring offenders to justice.”

“Our message is clear – criminal assets are not safe in the UK. The Met remains committed to protecting the public and this outcome reflects not only the scale of the criminality but also the harm suffered by the victims.

“Our thoughts remain with the many thousands of people who lost money in this scheme.”