A Chinese woman accused of leading a huge investment fraud confessed to using Bitcoin to launder criminal money, in a case involving one of the biggest cryptocurrency seizures ever made by the British police.
Yadi Zhang, 47, also known as Zhimin Qian, admitted the possession and transfer of criminal assets, while his assistant, Seng Hok Ling, also 47, confessed involvement with cryptocurrency negotiation in a London court this week. The confessions occurred on the eve of the beginning of the trial, which would last 12 weeks. The sentence will be issued on November 10.
The case originates from the seizure of about 61,000 bitcoins in a home in western London in 2018. Currently, this amount is worth nearly $ 7 billion, representing one of the biggest cryptocurrency seizures ever performed by police worldwide.
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Zhang was a key piece in a fraud that generated much of this illicit money, while Ling helped transfer the values to cryptocurrency accounts.
Another woman, Jian Wen, was considered guilty of Bitcoin’s washing in a trial last year and was sentenced to more than six years in prison. Wen lived with Zhang in Hampstead and was nicknamed “Supervilã” by prosecutors during the trial.
By declaring herself to blame, “Mrs. Zhang hopes to bring some comfort to investors who have been awaiting compensation since 2017,” said her lawyer Roger Sahota.
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Wen worked at a fast food restaurant in east of London before starting to work with Zhang in 2017. Within a few weeks, he went from living in the basement of the restaurant for a luxurious lifestyle, including a six -bedroom house, outside travel and extravagant shopping.
Chinese police began an investigation into a fraudulent investment project in Tianjin, China, in 2017, which fooled more than 128,000 people across the country, according to British prosecutors. The investigation revealed a fraud involving Tianjin Lantian, which attracted investors with promises of high returns. In total, unsuspecting investors had 40 billion yuans (US $ 5.6 billion) stolen, and 14 Chinese citizens were sentenced in connection with the crime.
With the sentence of Ling and Zhang, the United Kingdom criminal proceedings are over, and the focus now turns to civil cases that will decide the destination of cryptocurrencies seized between injured investors and the British government.
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“Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are increasingly being used by organized criminals to disguise and transfer active, allowing fraudsters to enjoy the benefits of their criminal conduct,” said Robin Weyell, deputy chief of the Crown for the Crown Prosecution Service in a statement on Monday. “CPS will now work to ensure, through criminal confiscation and civil proceedings, that criminal assets remain out of reach of fraudsters.”
© 2025 Bloomberg L.P.
