Cryptocurrency and Crime: Mastermind Jailed in Britain

Qian Zhimin, the orchestrator of a major Ponzi scheme in China, has been sentenced in the UK to over 11 years for laundering the scheme's proceeds into cryptocurrency, now worth billions. This case includes one of the largest ever cryptocurrency seizures by British police, highlighting Qian's extensive fraudulent activities.

The mastermind behind one of China's most significant Ponzi schemes has been sentenced to more than 11 years in a British jail for laundering the scheme's proceeds into cryptocurrency, currently valued at billions of dollars.

Qian Zhimin admitted to money laundering charges in September after investigators seized over 61,000 bitcoin, valued at approximately $6 billion, marking one of the largest cryptocurrency confiscations. In court, Judge Sally-Ann Hales noted Qian's extensive involvement and greed-driven motives behind the operation.

Qian, 47, changed her plea just as her trial was set to begin, accepting charges of possessing and transferring criminal property. Prosecutors revealed that the fraud involved about 128,000 investors and 40 billion renminbi, of which 6 billion was illicitly taken. Fleeing from China, Qian traveled through Southeast Asia before reaching London, seeking to convert the fraudulent bitcoin into cash.

(With inputs from agencies.)