‘BitQueen’s’ £5.5 Billion Fraud Busted

Metropolitan Police secure successful conviction in “BitQueen” £5.5B Bitcoin fraud, after 7-year investigation with CPS, NCA and international cooperation.

On 29 September 2025, the Metropolitan Police announced the successful conviction of two individuals following the world’s largest crypto seizure, currently valued at £5.5 billion.

This seizure has been no mean feat and is the result of a seven-year investigation headed up by the Metropolitan Police’s Economic Crime team, supported by the Crown Prosecution Service and the National Crime Agency. The investigation was originally launched in 2018 following the receipt of intelligence relating to Zhimin Qian (a Chinese national, also known as Yadi Zhang), referred to in the press as “BitQueen”.

It is understood that Qian obtained the Bitcoin through her leading role in a Ponzi investment scheme (known as the Lantian Gerui Fraud) which defrauded over 128,000 victims in China. Qian then looked to store the criminal property in the form of Bitcoin – a growing trend being seen across the asset recovery / fraud sector, where obfuscating and “off ramping” funds through the use of the blockchain continues to add an additional layer of complexity to asset-tracing and recovery claims. In this case, the investigation led to the seizure of 61,000 Bitcoin by the Metropolitan Police from Qian.

Following the Lantian Gerui Fraud, Qian fled China and entered the UK; where she attempted to launder the proceeds of her criminal activity through the purchase of residential property in this country. Throughout this time, Qian had an associate, Hok Seng Ling, who was based in Matlock, Derbyshire – and the surveillance of Ling by the Metropolitan Police led to the location of Qian within the UK. This led to the arrest of the pair in April 2024 where assets were seized, including cryptocurrency alongside encrypted devices and fiat currency.

Qian pleaded guilty on 29 September 2025 at Southwark Crown Court to two offences under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, namely acquiring and possessing cryptocurrency which was recoverable property under section 329 of POCA 2002.

The key takeaways from this successful conviction are:

• The importance of cross-border collaboration. Here, the Metropolitan Police have praised the “unprecedented cooperation with Chinese law enforcement” which appears to have helped secure sufficient evidence to lead to a conviction and which will pave the way for asset recovery efforts. With serious organised crime and asset dissipation increasingly taking place across borders, such cross-border relationships will be crucial for public bodies to stand any chance of combatting the evolving nature of serious organised crime across the world.

• Intelligence led investigations and evidence gathering. Serious organised crime investigations require clear cogent evidence and case strategy from the outset. Without compelling evidence, it appears unlikely that a guilty plea would have been entered, which is testament to the preparation of the case.

• The human impact. Whilst the sheer value and novel nature of this case may be eye catching to practitioners, the Metropolitan Police and other commentators have rightly recognised the sheer scale of human harm caused by the actions of these two individuals, which ultimately led to the creation of at least 128,000 victims in China.

The sentencing of Qian and Ling which is scheduled to take place on 10 and 11 November 2025 at Southwark Crown Court. We know from experience that securing an outstanding outcome will often only be the start of the process where it comes to a successful asset recovery. A Part 5 POCA claim was issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions on 18 September 2024 and a notice was issued by the CPS to the victims of the Lantian Gerui fraud. The civil recovery of these cryptoassets, noting the value and different international considerations at play in this case, will be interesting to follow, including whether any successful claims will be brought by victims under section 281 of POCA 2002.

What is clear is that for a recovery of this size, the growing utilisation of public-private partnerships in this area could represent a useful strategic approach for the public bodies charged with recovering assets on this scale. We have experience of advising both public bodies and private clients in asset recovery matters including in respect of cryptocurrency and will watch the developments in this case with great interest.

This article was co-authored by Eleanor Parsons (Solicitor) and Rhiannon Price (Director) in the Firm’s Dispute Resolution department.