Chinese woman convicted in UK over £5.5bn bitcoin scam

A Chinese national has been convicted following an international fraud investigation which resulted in what's believed to be the single largest cryptocurrency seizure in the world.

The Metropolitan Police says it recovered 61,000 bitcoin worth more than £5bn ($6.7bn) in current prices.

Zhimin Qian, also known as Yadi Zhang, pleaded guilty on Monday at Southwark Crown Court of illegally acquiring and possessing the cryptocurrency.

Between 2014 and 2017 she led a large-scale scam in China which involved cheating more than 128,000 victims and storing the stolen funds in bitcoin assets, the Met said in a statement.

Qian had help from a Chinese takeaway worker named Jian Wen, who was jailed for six years and eight months last year for her part in the criminal operation.

Wen, 44, laundered the proceeds from the scam and moved from living above a restaurant to a "multi-million pound rented house" in north London, said the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) earlier this year.

She also bought two properties in Dubai worth more than £500,000, the CPS said.

The Met said it seized more than £300m worth of bitcoin from Wen.

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