‘Bitcoin Queen’ laundered biggest investment scam

A Chinese ‘Bitcoin Queen’ who laundered cryptocurrency from one of the world’s biggest ever investment cons is facing years in jail.

Zhimin Qian, also known as Yadi Zhang, 47, ripped off more than 128,000 investors in a wealth management swindle and fled China in 2017,

Qian – which means money in Chinese – flew to the UK in 2017 using a bogus St Kitts and Nevis passport in the name Yadi Zhang.

She worked with Chinese takeaway worker Jian Wen, 43, who acted as a front in her massive fraud.

Wen was jailed for six years and eight months for her part in the scam in May 2025.

Bespectacled Qian admitted acquiring and possessing cryptocurrency, between October 2017 and April 2024 on the first day of her trial.

She appeared at Southwark Crown Court wearing a brown cardigan, animal print top aided by a Mandarin interpreter

Wen arrived here in 2007 and lived modestly in Leeds between 2011 and 2017 before working at a Chinese takeaway in south east London.

She moved in with Qian to a fabulous six-bedroom house in Hampstead Heath in September 2017.

While laundering the proceeds of the fraud Wen drove around in a Mercedes and flew her son over from China 18 months later to attend a private school.

Qian fled after police raided the Hamsptead property known the Manor House and seized a safety desposit box containing digitial wallets holding more than £1.4 billion worth of Bitcoin.

Wen had insisted she had no idea the Bitcoin came from the proceeds of fraud and claimed she had been duped by Qian.

She said she helped Qian run a jewellery business which had branches in Singapore, Malaysia and China.

In January this year a judge ordered Wen to pay back £3,126,572, or serve another seven years in jail if she does not pay that sum in three months.

The recoverable amount derives from the Bitcoin and two properties in Dubai.

Qian will now be sentenced on a date to be fixed at Southwark Crown Court.

In a digital diary seized by police, Qian had recorded her desire to be anointed ‘Reincarnated Goddess’ by the Dalai Lama.

She planned to lead a 7 sq km unrecognised and uninhabited micronation located on the Danube between Croatia and Serbia.

Qian’s other plans included a Buddhist temple, infrastructure including an airport and port, and a £5million crown and sceptre.

Will Lyne, The Met’s Head of Economic and Cybercrime Command, said: ‘Today’s guilty plea marks the culmination of years of dedicated investigation by the Met’s Economic Crime teams and our partners. This is one of the largest money laundering cases in UK history and among the highest-value cryptocurrency cases globally. I am extremely proud of the team.

‘Through a meticulous investigation and unprecedented cooperation with Chinese law enforcement, we were able to obtain compelling evidence of the criminal origins of the cryptoassets Qian attempted to launder in the UK.

‘My thoughts are with the thousands of victims defrauded in this scheme, and I hope today’s outcome acknowledges the harm Qian inflicted and reinforces the Met’s unwavering commitment to justice.’

Detective Seargent Isabella Grotto, who led the Met’s investigation, added:

‘Today marks the result of years of painstaking work. When our team located Zhimin Qian, she had been evading justice for five years, and her arrest triggered a complex investigation requiring evidence from multiple jurisdictions and the careful review of thousands of documents.

‘I am immensely proud of the investigation team and our partners who have worked tirelessly on this case.

‘Today’s plea reflects years of hard work across both the UK and China. We are grateful for the support of the National Crime Agency and the Crown Prosecution Service, and to Chinese law enforcement teams in Tianjin and Beijing with whom we have collaborated throughout.’
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