China's Bitcoin Queen Sentenced to Over 11 Years in Prison for $6.6 Billion Bitcoin Scam – The Story Behind the World's Largest Cryptocurrency Scam
Southwark Crown Court in London on November 11 sentenced Qian Zhimin, 47, to 11 years and 8 months in prison after she admitted to Vai the mastermind of a massive fraud that took 61,000 Bitcoins, equivalent to 6.6 billion USD - one of the largest cryptocurrency cases in world history.
Judge Sally-Ann Hales said Qian’s crimes were “sophisticated, meticulously planned and driven entirely by greed.” Qian bowed her head in guilty plea, burst into tears and apologized to tens of thousands of investors who lost all their assets because they believed in her promises of “huge profits.”
From “Bitcoin Queen” to Globally Wanted Criminal
Once hailed as China’s “Bitcoin Queen,” Qian Zhimin was a symbol of success in the cryptocurrency industry from 2014 to 2017. Under the name of Blue Sky, a company based in Tianjin, Qian created an image of an innovative financial leader, promising investors returns of up to 300% through a multi-level investment model.
In fact, “Blue Sky” was just a giant Ponzi scheme. According to the investigation documents, more than 128,000 people invested in this project, the total amount of money raised was up to 40 billion yuan, most of which was converted to Bitcoin and dispersed abroad.
When Chinese authorities began investigating in 2017, Qian secretly left China, using a fake passport under the name Zhang Yadi to flee to the UK. She lived incognito for years in London, enjoying a lavish lifestyle of luxury villas, luxury cars and designer goods – while tens of thousands of victims back home are still desperately struggling to get their money back.
The fall of the “Bitcoin queen” in the UK
After more than six years on the run, British police finally tracked down Qian. The investigation led to the seizure of 61,000 Bitcoins, worth more than £5 billion ($6.6 billion) – XEM the largest cryptocurrency seizure in history.
At the trial, Qian admitted to possessing and transferring criminal property. Her co-defendant, Ling Seng Hok, 47, a Malaysian national, was also sentenced to four years and 11 months in prison for money laundering. Another person involved in the scheme, Wen, was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison last year.
