A court in the United Kingdom has sentenced a Chinese woman, who masterminded a multibillion-dollar bitcoin scam and evaded authorities for years, to 11 years and eight months in prison.
The woman, Zhimin Qian, was sentenced to prison on Tuesday, November 11, 2025.
Qian pleaded guilty to two money laundering charges in September, after an investigation during which British police seized more than 61,000 bitcoin – currently worth over $6 billion – in one of the largest ever cryptocurrency seizures.
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Qian wept in the dock as Judge Sally-Ann Hales sentenced her to 11 years and eight months, saying: “You were the architect of this offending from its inception to its conclusion. Your motive was one of pure greed.”
Prosecutors said Qian and her co-conspirators spent more than 95 million renminbi ($13.34 million) on jewelry from the proceeds of the fraud.
While the criminal proceedings have finished, there remains a looming legal battle over the fate of the seized bitcoin and how the victims of the fraud are repaid, with British prosecutors mulling a compensation scheme for victims, according to Reuters.
Qian’s lawyers said she never intended to defraud anyone and that the “astronomic rise in the value of bitcoin means it will greatly exceed the amount needed to compensate victims”.
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