UK convicts Chinese scammer after major crypto seizure

The UK has convicted Chinese national Zhimin Qian, who admitted guilt over running a major investment fraud scheme via her Chinese firm Tianjin Lantian Gerui Electronic Technology, after the Metropolitan Police had sequestered $6.9 billion worth of Bitcoin from a raid at her London residence, which has been hailed as the world's single largest cryptocurrency seizure, reports The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.

Over 128,000 individuals were victimized in Qian's sweeping fraud scheme between 2014 and 2017, with the stolen funds later laundered by Qian with the assistance of Jian Wen, who was already given an over six-year prison sentence, according to the Met.

"Today's guilty plea marks the culmination of years of dedicated investigation by the Met's Economic Crime teams and our partners... I hope today's outcome acknowledges the harm Qian inflicted and reinforces the Met's unwavering commitment to justice," said Met Head of Economic and Cybercrime Command Will Lyne.