Londoners could benefit after a stash of cryptocurrency worth £5.5 billion was seized by police from a fraudster, it is understood.
Zhimin Qian, 47, was jailed at Southwark Crown Court for 11 years and eight months on Tuesday after pleading guilty to money laundering and transferring and possessing criminal property, namely cryptocurrency.
It is hoped the cash seized could go towards funding the capital and the Metropolitan Police, pending ongoing proceedings.
Qian defrauded more than 128,000 victims in China between 2014 and 2017 through a Ponzi scheme before fleeing to the UK as an international fugitive.
She stored the funds in Bitcoin assets and evaded police for years until she was found at a rental property in York in April 2024.
Qian was arrested and subsequently charged with money laundering offences, leading UK police to make the world's largest cryptocurrency seizure of Bitcoin worth more than £5.5 billion at the time she was convicted.
Neil Colville, unit head prosecutor in the Serious Economic Organised Crime and International Directorate of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "The CPS will now work to ensure, through criminal confiscation and civil proceedings, that the criminal assets remain beyond the fraudsters' reach to firstly freeze and then look to seize the very large quantity of cryptocurrency and other assets, currently worth around £4.8 billion, used by Zhimin Qian to fund her extravagant lifestyle"
The Metropolitan Police's head of economic and cybercrime command, Will Lyne, said the investigation was one of the "largest and most complex" the force had undertaken.
During a media briefing, officers described finding notes and "musings" from Qian in which she detailed her hopes of "meeting a Duke and royalty".
They said the fraudster may have moved to the UK because she "really likes" the country and referred to promotional videos used in her original investment fraud, which made reference to London as being a "fantastic place to live and conduct business".
Qian's "lavish" lifestyle was discussed in court and reference was made to her staying in luxurious properties and Airbnbs.
Officers said Qian had an "entourage of staff" working for her when they found her at the York property.
Police said Qian would impose fines on her workers, who were all Malaysian nationals, if they breached any of her rules outlined in confidentiality agreements.
The documents, shared by the Met, showed the sanctions threated by Qian, including a 30,000 dollars (around £22,700) fine for photographing, recording or videoing anyone "indoors or outdoors" at the property.
Workers were told not to disclose their home address or location information, as well as information "about family members".
Lesser fines of 10,000 dollars (around £7,500) were imposed for "violations" including the wearing and using of "functional watches and glasses" such as Apple or Huawei.
