The British and Chinese governments are set to go into battle over £5 billion worth of stolen cryptocurrency, reports suggest.
Zhimin Qian, nicknamed “BitQueen”, was convicted on Monday for her role in a major crypto fraud scheme following a seven-year investigation by Metropolitan Police detectives.
Scotland Yard also made the world’s largest seizure of cryptocurrency, worth £5.5 billion, which Chancellor Rachel Reeves hopes will help shore up public finances.
But the Chinese Communist Party, led by president Xi Jinping, is also reportedly laying claim to the money.
Beijing argues the 61,000 Bitcoins, which are understood to be with the Treasury, had originated from a Ponzi scheme that had targeted 128,000 investors in China between 2014 and 2017.
According to The Times, Chinese officials have hired lawyers to represent victims of the money laundering programme.
Last year, the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service published a “notice to the victims of the Lantian Gerui fraud”.
The CPS made a property freezing order in 2023 under the proceeds of crime act “and will remain in force, prohibiting the dissipation of the property, until the conclusion of the civil recovery proceedings or until further order of the High Court”.
In 2018, Qian, 47, fled China using false documents and entered the UK, where she attempted to launder the stolen funds by purchasing a house with the help of Jian Wen, who worked at a Chinese takeaway.
That same year, the Met seized Bitcoin from Wen's £5 million mansion in Hampstead. Qian was not charged until 2024 after she was detained by police in York.
Will Lyne, the Met’s Head of Economic and Cybercrime Command, said officers were able to gather evidence in collaboration with Chinese police.
He said: “My thoughts are with the thousands of victims defrauded in this scheme, and I hope today's outcome acknowledges the harm Qian inflicted and reinforces the Met's unwavering commitment to justice.”
