Chinese ‘super villain’ Qian Zhimin jailed 11 years in US$6.4 billion bitcoin fraud
Qian Zhimin and her assistant Seng Hok Ling are jailed after the largest bitcoin seizure ever by British police
A Chinese woman described as a “super villain” who orchestrated a multibillion-dollar investment fraud to buy bitcoin was sentenced to 11 years and eight months in jail by a London judge.
Qian Zhimin, who evaded arrest in China after fleeing on a moped to the Myanmar border, travelled through Southeast Asia and Europe using fake passports before settling in Britain under a fake name - Yadi Zhang. She was arrested as part of the largest bitcoin seizure ever by British police - now worth US$6.4 billion.
Qian was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to charges of possessing and transacting in criminal property in August. Her assistant, Seng Hok Ling, 47, was also jailed for four years and 11 months for his role in dealing with criminal money.
The 47-year-old lived a life of luxury renting expensive mansions and plotting to become the monarch of a self-proclaimed nation “Liberland” until she was arrested last year, prosecutors said.
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Qian was instrumental in a fraud that helped generate that illicit cash, while Ling worked to help her move money into cryptocurrency accounts, prosecutors said. Ling was not involved in the Chinese fraud and was not aware of Qian’s crimes, her lawyer said in court on Tuesday.