According to Reuters, the woman known as the world’s biggest Bitcoin (BTC) fraudster has pleaded guilty.
Accordingly, Chinese citizen Zhimin Qian, also known as Zhang Yadi, pleaded guilty to a massive cryptocurrency scam targeting more than 128,000 people.
He pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court in London to a massive fraud operation worth an estimated $6.7 billion (£5 billion – 278 billion Turkish Lira).
According to a statement by London Police, Qian was accused of perpetrating a large-scale fraud scheme by defrauding more than 128,000 victims in China between 2014 and 2017, disguising the money as Bitcoin. A total of 61,000 Bitcoins were reportedly seized from Qian as part of the investigation.
Police said the woman fled China and entered the UK using false documents, where she tried to launder the money she stole by buying property.
The statement noted that Qian’s scheme specifically targeted investors between the ages of 50 and 75. Accordingly, Qian capitalized on the cryptocurrency craze of the time, raking in hundreds of millions of yuan through the system, which promised investors daily dividends and guaranteed profits.
The magnitude of this seizure will be the largest virtual asset seizure in UK history. It is reportedly the same number of Bitcoins held by the UK government, effectively doubling the UK’s Bitcoin holdings.
*This is not investment advice.