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Zhimin Qian, 47, was sentenced to 11 years and eight months in prison for masterminding a cryptocurrency money laundering scheme involving over £5 billion in Bitcoin. Qian defrauded more than 128,000 victims through a Ponzi scheme in China between 2014 and 2017 before fleeing to the UK as an international fugitive. She evaded UK police for nearly six years, living a luxurious lifestyle and travelling extensively across Europe while converting Bitcoin into cash and high-value goods. The court heard of her intention to become the “monarch of Liberland”, which is a “self-proclaimed country” consisting of a strip of land between Croatia and Serbia. Her accomplices, Seng Hok Ling, 47, and Jian Wen, were also sentenced to four years and 11 months, and six years and eight months respectively for their roles in the money laundering operation.
