Chinese woman pleads guilty to the largest Bitcoin eyewash in history, with approximately 130,000 victims! Seized Bitcoin will be confiscated by the UK?

A shocking global crypto assets crime case recently made a significant breakthrough at the Southwark Crown Court in London, UK. A Chinese woman, Qian Zhimin, who also used the alias Yadi Zhang, admitted to her money laundering crimes in the UK on the first day of the trial. This case not only involves a massive investment fraud case that occurred in China, affecting approximately 130,000 victims, but also led to one of the largest crypto assets seizure operations in British history and even globally—over 61,000 Bitcoin, valued at nearly $7 billion based on current market prices.

With Qian Zhimin's confession, the seven-year-long international manhunt and investigation is finally drawing to a close. However, a valuable suspense also surfaces: where will this enormous Bitcoin wealth ultimately flow? Will it be returned to the victims far away in China, or will it be nationalized by the British government?

A meticulously planned billion-dollar scam

The source of this sensational case can be traced back to the years 2014 to 2017. At that time, Qian Zhimin meticulously planned a large-scale investment scam in China through a company called "Tianjin Lantian Ge Rui Electronic Technology Co., Ltd." She sold high-yield "investment and financial management" products to over 128,000 Chinese investors, promising returns of 100% to 300%. In just three years, she illegally raised a total of 43 billion yuan through the method of "paying back old funds with new funds."

As the snowball of the scam grew larger, Qian Zhimin sensed the risk of a collapse. She took advantage of the anonymity of Bitcoin and the convenience of cross-border transfers to quietly exchange the huge illegal funds obtained from the scam into Bitcoin. In 2017, after China intensified its crackdown on Crypto Assets, her company went bankrupt, while Qian Zhimin herself vanished with this astronomical amount of Bitcoin wealth.

Her next stop is London, England. In 2018, Qian Zhimin entered the UK using forged identity documents, attempting to completely launder this batch of "dirty money."

After arriving in London, Qian Zhimin began a series of high-profile money laundering activities. She found a Chinese woman named Jian Wen to be her accomplice. Jian Wen was originally just working in a Chinese restaurant in London, but after meeting Qian Zhimin, her life changed dramatically, leaping from an ordinary working-class individual to a "rich lady" frequenting luxury venues and purchasing mansions.

Their plan was to convert the Bitcoin they held into seemingly legitimate assets by purchasing luxury goods such as high-end real estate and jewelry. However, such large-scale and unclear sources of wealth quickly drew the attention of the British police. The Economic Crime Unit of the Metropolitan Police subsequently launched what has been described as a "grueling" multinational investigation.

Due to the complexity of the case involving Crypto Assets tracking, cross-border money flows, and multiple forged identities, the investigation process was extremely difficult. The police spent several years gathering evidence across multiple jurisdictions and ultimately succeeded in identifying Qian Zhimin and Wen Jian. Between 2018 and 2021, the police took action and successfully seized and confiscated the electronic wallet controlled by Qian Zhimin, which contained over 61,000 Bits.

Her accomplice Wen Jian was sentenced to over six years in prison last year for Money Laundering. The main culprit Qian Zhimin ultimately chose to confess in court to the charges of holding and transferring criminal assets after facing overwhelming evidence. However, Qian Zhimin denied any fraudulent activity and insisted that the Bitcoin he held was a legitimate investment. Due to the lack of an extradition treaty between the UK and China, and with no direct involvement from a UK entity, the potential fraud allegations became even more complicated.

Currently, Qian Zhiming has been detained, awaiting sentencing. The trial is expected to last 12 weeks and will conclude before Christmas. Chinese police will personally testify in court during the proceedings. Several victims will remotely testify via video link in a court in Tianjin.

A tricky international problem

Qian Zhimin's guilty plea has settled the criminal aspect of the case, but the challenges in the civil part have just begun. The ownership of this nearly 7 billion dollar Bitcoin has become the focus of attention for all parties involved.

Can victims recover their losses? Legally speaking, the funds come from over 128,000 victims in China and should be returned. However, the reality is fraught with difficulties. First, the lack of an extradition treaty between China and the UK complicates coordination of the case. Secondly, legal experts point out that Chinese investors will face "considerable challenges" in proving their legal proprietary rights to this Bitcoin in UK courts. This requires a substantial amount of evidence and complex legal procedures, presenting a very high threshold for ordinary victims.

Will the UK government "seize" this wealth? Another significant highlight of this case is that it may have profound implications for the UK's national finances. The confiscated 61,000 Bitcoins amount to nearly the total Bitcoin holdings the UK government previously had, meaning that the UK's "Bitcoin treasury" could potentially double as a result.

Analyses indicate that, unlike the United States, which typically returns seized assets to victims, the UK may have different considerations in this case. Given that the victims are all in China, and China has a strict stance on Crypto Assets, the UK government may not have a strong legal or political obligation to return these funds.

This possibility has even sparked discussions about establishing a "UK Bitcoin Reserve." British politician Nigel Farage and others have proposed similar ideas to enhance the country's financial strength. The unexpected fortune from the Qian Zhimin case undoubtedly provides a highly tempting real basis for such a concept. If the UK government ultimately decides to nationalize this Bitcoin, it will be the largest "windfall" in its history.

The Alarm of Crypto Crime

The case of money laundering involving 43 billion yuan and 61,000 Bitcoins is a milestone case in the history of Crypto Assets. It clearly demonstrates how digital assets like Bitcoin can be used for large-scale transnational crime and money laundering activities, while also highlighting the decisive role of international law enforcement cooperation in combating such crimes. The London Metropolitan Police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) through years of relentless efforts, ultimately brought the criminals to justice, setting a benchmark for global efforts against crypto crime.

However, when the gavel of the court fell, a bigger question was left for the world. Will this $7 billion Bitcoin go through many hardships to return to the anxious victims in China, or will it become the "Royal Reserve" of the British Empire in the digital age? The final answer to this suspense will not only determine the fate of about 130,000 families but may also write a significant chapter in the history of international law, national asset management, and Crypto Assets regulation.