Fraudster Behind UK's Largest Bitcoin Seizure Gets 11-Year Jail Sentence

Zhimin Qian, a Chinese national, has been sentenced to 11 years and eight months in prison for masterminding a vast pyramid scheme that defrauded over 120,000 individuals, particularly Chinese pensioners, out of their savings. Her fraudulent activities, linked to her company Lantian Gerui, led to the UK's largest seizure of cryptocurrency, totaling 61,000 Bitcoin valued at approximately $6.4 billion. Qian, who used deceptive tactics to allure victims, fled China in 2017 and lived a lavish lifestyle in the UK until her arrest in 2024. The case raises questions about the distribution of the recovered Bitcoin, with various parties claiming rights to the funds, including defrauded investors and the UK government. The distribution process could take years as legal complexities arise, especially since many payments were made in fiat money to regional promoters rather than directly to Qian's company.

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